Missing Scenes
by Fanofeverything101
Summary: Missing scenes from episodes of Falling Skies
1. I'll Do Better (2x10)

**_*Hal, Ben, and Matt meet up before they leave for mission_** _*_

"Thought I told you to be careful." Ben turned around at the sound of Hal's voice, who was standing by the back of the jeep that Ben was putting a bad of supplies in.

"I try, but it's kinda hard to do that in a war zone." Ben answered. Hal came over to him, put his hand under Ben's chin and lifted his head up, inspecting the cut and bruise on his face.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch. The spikes are already healing it." Ben tried to assure his big brother, who then lowered his hand from his face.

"Good." Hal looked like he was about to say something else, but a voice interrupted him, "Hey Mason?"

The brothers turned around to see Maggie little ways away, looking straight at Hal.

"You coming?" The woman asked, giving the older brother a smile which Hal immediately returned.

"I'll be right there." Hal responded. Maggie nodded and continued her to the vehicle she would be traveling in. When she left, the two boys saw their younger brother watching them. The two older brothers locked eyes, then headed over to Matt.

"Hey buddy, what's going on?" Hal asked, crouching down so he was eye level with Matt.

"I want to come with you guys, but Dad said no." The curly blonde answered dejectedly.

"I know, but this is going to be a pretty dangerous mission Matt. It's safer for you if you stay here." Hal explained. Ben nodded, completely agreeing with his older brother. He may have agreed for Matt to learn to fight, but his little brother was no where near ready for a mission this dangerous.

"But what about you guys?" Matt questioned, suddenly looking scared and worried. Ben gave him an assuring smile.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be okay." Ben told him.

"You promise you'll come back?"

"We promise Matt." Hal replied, then wrapped his arms around Matt's small shoulders, while Matt threw his arms around Hal's waist. After a minute, they pulled away from each other, and Ben took his turn hugging his younger brother.

All too soon, the order to move out was given, and Ben let go of Matt. Together, the oldest Mason sons headed to the vehicles while Matt stood still. He didn't head back inside the building until well after the 2nd Mass fighters were out of sight.

 _*_ _ **Right after the 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **Mass destroys the weapon***_

"Anne!" Tom cried out while he and Ben lowered Hal to the ground by the truck. Maggie fell to her knees beside her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly in both of hers. Tom and Ben also kneeled beside Hal, while Anne made her way over to him.

"He won't wake up." Maggie told the doctor as she sat down beside the fallen soldier. Anne gently tapped Hal's check, trying to rouse him, but it was no use. He was completely out cold, and Anne didn't know why.

"Did Karen do anything besides kiss him?" Anne asked, wondering if Karen had done anything else that was causing him to be unconscious that she didn't know about.

"Not that I could see." Maggie answered, anger filling her voice at the memory of Karen forcing her lips on his.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ben inquired. He had seen what Karen had done, and was beyond worried about what was happening to his big brother. He remembered their conversation back under the bridge by Charleston.

 _"_ _Just be careful, okay?"_ _Hal asked Ben, his arms holding Ben tightly in his embrace._

 _"_ _Yeah, you too." Ben replied._

 _You were supposed to be careful too Hal,_ Ben thought to himself, looking at his brother's laxed face.

"I have no clue what's going on. We should get him back to Charleston. I can get a better idea once we get him into their infirmary. They have a lot of hospital equipment we can use." Anne decided. Tom and Ben lifted their fallen family member and layed him down on a stretcher in the back of the truck and prepared for the long journey back to Charleston.

 ** _*Telling Matt about Hal*_**

"Of course, I'm staying. In fact, I was thinking we should get a killer game of monopoly going, if you think you can beat me." Ben told Matt.

"You know I can suckerfish." Matt responded with a smile and hugged his brother again. Ben looked up at his Dad, knowing that there was going to be a slightly confused but happy expression on his face.

"Wait, where's Hal?" And just like that, Tom and Ben remembered why they had come to find Matt in the first place. Matt didn't know what happened to his big brother, and Tom didn't want him to find out from someone else.

"He's been taken to the infirmary." Tom revealed. Matt's curious expression fell into one of fear as his face paled.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Matt asked, his small voice filled with panic and worry.

"I'll explain on the way, let's go."

Ben walked quietly beside his little brother while their Dad, who was on the other side of Matt, told the youngest family member of all that happened on the mission. Matt took it all in silence, almost as though he was in too much shock to respond and Ben instinctively grabbed his brother's hand.

Soon, they reached the infirmary. They found Maggie off to the side, pacing in front of a door that they could only assume Hal was on the other side of. The soldier stopped in her steps when she saw her boyfriend's family approach.

"Any news?" Tom asked, and Maggie shook her head.

"No, they're still running tests." Maggie answered. It was at that moment she noticed Matt, pressed against his other brother, holding his hand tightly and eyes full of fear for his oldest sibling.

"Don't worry Matt, Anne's a good doctor. She'll take good care of him." Maggie tried to assure the kid. Matt nodded in response, but didn't move from his spot by Ben, nor did the fearful expression leave his face.

An hour later, they were still waiting. Matt was sitting on a chair between Ben and Tom while Maggie stood against the wall staring at the door, as if she was trying to force it open with her mind. After an half an hour of pacing, a nurse had come over to her and asked her to stop because she was seriously about to wear a hole in the floor.

Then, the door finally opened, and Lourdes came out. Tom, Ben, and Matt jumped to their feet and headed over to the young doctor along with Maggie. Lourdes held the door open, giving them permission to enter. The first thing they saw was Anne standing by the bed which Hal was lying on.

 ** _*Ben, Matt, and Maggie after they leave Hal*_**

The minute she left the room, Maggie headed to the nearest bathroom. Once she was alone, she let her tears fall freely. Maggie lifted her hand to her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs so no one would hear.

Her boyfriend, her best friend, the man she loved, appeared to be in a coma, and they had no idea how to wake him up. They didn't know what exactly Karen did to him. He could die from whatever she did. The thoughts caused Maggie's crying to intensify, and she slid down to the floor against the wall.

When Matt came out of the room, he sat back down in the chair he was sitting on earlier. He wanted to stay as close to Hal as he possibly could, just in case something were to happen. Ben sat down beside him, also not willing to leave his big brother just yet. He had no doubt that Anne and Lourdes would take good care of him, but he still felt better staying close by.

Their Dad was talking to Anne, probably about the baby, which reminded Ben that Matt still didn't know that he was soon going to have another sibling. Ben wondered if he should say something, prepare Matt for that bombshell, but decided it would be better for Tom to tell him.

Soon, their Dad made his way over to his two youngest and kneeled in front of them.

"It's late, maybe you guys should get some sleep. I still have to go meet with Manchester." Tom suggested.

"No, I want to stay here." Matt responded, not looking at his eyes, instead staring at a spot on the floor. Tom wanted to argue, but he personally wanted to stay with Hal too, and he would if he didn't have to go deal with the now, former leader of Charleston.

"Okay, just until curfew though, okay? You guys still need your sleep." Tom relented. Matt and Ben nodded as Tom stood up and left the infirmary.

A few minutes later, Maggie exited the bathroom with her eyes red and faint tear tracks on her cheeks. Without saying a word, she sat down on the other side of Matt, and joined in their silent waiting.

As the time passed, there was no change. Anne, Lourdes, and even a few of the other nurses took turns going into Hal's room to check on him every 10 to 15 minutes. Even though it was late at night, the workload in the infirmary never seemed to lessen.

Ben later got up to go check on their Dad, thinking that he should've been back by now, while Maggie decided to go get something to eat. She tried to get Matt to come with her, but he refused. Maggie quickly realized that Matt was as stubborn as his brothers and instead decided to go get food, but to bring it back so Matt will at least eat something.

Matt was all alone when he felt the building start to shake. It was slow at first, but then got faster, and louder. Dust started to fall from the ceiling, and the people still in the infirmary started screaming. One person actually yelled, "Earthquake!", but Matt didn't listen.

The youngest Mason was getting off his chair and running for his big brother's room. He had seen the nurse leave a few minutes earlier and knew Hal was alone, and unprotected.

Matt burst through the door, and ran to Hal's side. He threw his small body over his brother's head and chest, trying to protect him as much he could. The shaking of the building continued to get louder and harder. He could hear the ceiling start to creak under the pressure, and the dust fell harder over top of the two brothers.

The shaking luckily, didn't last very long. As soon as it stopped, Matt slowly pulled himself off of Hal, who hadn't even flinched in response to what was happening. He was still unconscious.

It was at that moment Matt made a promise to himself, and to his brother. He would not let his Dad, or anyone make him stay on the sidelines anymore. He would learn how to fight, not just to help end the war, but also to be able to help protect his family.

"You spent your entire life protecting me and Ben," Matt whispered to his comatose brother, "now it's my turn. I'll do better Hal, I promise."

 **AN** – And this concludes the first chapter of missing scenes. There will be more, and if any of you have any episodes that you want more scenes from, or just a scene expanded please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Next chapter will be missing scenes from 3x06. See you guys soon!


	2. If You Love Me (3x06 Part 1)

**Disclaimer** \- Own nothing.

 **AN** \- So sorry for the wait. I totally meant to update sooner, but the whole end-of-the-semester assignments hit me hard than I thought it would. Not too mention I got into another TV show. Oops. I decided to split this chapter into two, because there is so many stuff I want to cover with this episode, and I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. So here is part 1 of 3x06 missing scenes. Please review and of course...

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*Tom and family get Hal back to Charleston and tells Weaver what happened*_**

"He's alive." Tom told them, relief flooding his voice. Hal's head was still bleeding heavily due to the gunshot, but he was alive. Maggie held her boyfriend protectively in her arms. Ben and Matt sat beside their brother, all wanting him to wake up, but he didn't.

Tom pulled off his jacket, and pressed it against his son's injury to slow down the bleeding. That was when the door to the room burst open and Anthony, with a few other soldiers came into the room, guns drawn and ready to fire.

"We're fine, but Hal's hurt. We need a stretcher." Tom said, lifting his arm to try to defend Hal when he saw all the guns, knowing they'd be pointed at his son. Anthony ordered two soldiers to go get a stretcher and the rest to stand down, knowing any threat was neutralized for the moment.

"Is he okay?" Anthony asked, getting down on his knees beside Tom.

"I don't know. We need to get him to the infirmary, and get the bug out of him." Tom replied. The door opened again, and the two soldiers re-entered the room carrying a stretcher. Weaver was right behind them.

"What happened?" The Colonel asked, seeing Hal being laid on the stretcher, Tom holding his jacket against his son's head.

"He tried to shoot himself. I'll explain later, but we need to get him out of here." Tom told him as he got to his feet while Maggie took over pressing the jacket against Hal's head. Weaver quickly saw how shaky his friend was, and remembered how Tom had hurt his ankle. Spying the cane laying abandoned on the floor, he bent down, picked it up, and handed it to the President.

"Thanks." The father said, and looked back to his son who was now on the stretcher was being lifted off the ground. It was at that moment that Weaver realized that Ben, Matt, and Maggie were there.

"How the h*ll do you three get in here?" Weaver demanded to know. He wasn't surprised that they disobeyed him, but he was ticked off.

"Can't we discuss that later?" Ben asked. Weaver looked at the group. Maggie still by Hal's head, keeping pressure on his injury, while Ben stood to the side, holding Matt back so Maggie and the soldiers could get Hal on the stretcher and out of the room. Weaver nodded and they headed out.

 ** _*Tom tells Ben and Matt about what the rebel skitter said*_**

What was so weird about being used as a mouth piece for the skitters, is that Ben could never really remember what they had said using his voice. When he would enter into a skitter's or an Overlord's brain, he was entirely in control. Letting the skitter leader use him though, was letting down his barriers and fully submitting to the alien. So, when the skitter leader released his hold, and Ben saw the look on his father's face, he knew that something important just happened.

"What did he say?" Despite feeling a sudden fear of the answer, Ben had to know. Tom looked up from a device in his hand to Ben's face.

"Go get Matt, and Maggie too." And that was all that Tom said, and looked back down at the weird thing that the skitter had given him. Ben stared at his father for a few moments, trying to figure out the look on his face, but followed his instructions.

Ben didn't have to go very far. Matt was sitting on one of the chairs beside Maggie in the waiting room. He didn't even have to announce his presence as they were both keeping their eyes on the door. They both immediately got to their feet and met him half-way.

"Dad wants to talk to us." Ben tried to hide the worry he had been feeling all day in his voice. Matt's face however, told him that he failed. Together, with his big brother's girlfriend, and his little brother, they entered the room where Tom was waiting.

His Dad was still standing in the same spot, staring at the device the skitter leader had given him. He looked up though when he heard the door open.

"Well, what did he say?" Ben repeated his earlier question.

"This device can kill the bug, but, there's a risk. We don't know if it will work for sure, and if there isn't a bug," At that, Tom paused.

"What? What will happen if the bug is gone?" Maggie pressed.

"It will kill Hal."

The entire room was silent. Nobody really knew what to say. They had been given a potentially cure, but if they were wrong, and the bug had actually left, Hal would pay the price.

"We can't do it. Not unless we are sure that the bug is still there." Maggie protested.

"But how can we make sure? Lourdes is still waiting for the results from the blood panel she ran, and if the bug is invisible to those tests, then we still won't know if it is there or not." Tom explained.

"Why don't we just wait for him to wake up. If the bug is still there, then it will show, won't it?" Matt suggested, desperate for a solution that wouldn't end with his big brother's death.

"If it is still there, it knows it's caught, it's going to try to play us, make us think he's not being controlled anymore." Tom told them, the room went silent again. No one knew what to say, because no matter what choice they made, the risks were too high.

 ** _*Tom decides to go ahead with the procedure*_**

Tom came back to the infirmary after his talk with Marina. He still had no clue what choice to make. Either one could end with him losing his son, and he couldn't let that happen. He promised himself, after Rebecca died, that would not lose any of their sons. He had already broken that promise when Ben was taken, and now with Lexi and Anne, he was not going to break it again.

The waiting room was surprisingly empty, which Tom appreciated. He wondered if Weaver had anything to do with it. While he hadn't actually heard anything, he was positive that there were many people who were calling Hal out as a traitor and should be tried for it.

Continuing past the waiting room and down the hallway, Tom found Lourdes, looking at a chart. She lifted her gaze to the father when she heard him approach.

"Are those the results?" He asked.

"Yup, and nothing. Our medical equipment was not designed to find alien technology. I have no clue if it is accurate or not." Lourdes informed him.

"Is he awake yet?" Tom wondered.

"No, not yet."

"I want to see him." Lourdes was about to protest. Even though they had restrained Hal down on the stretcher, he could still be a threat. But then she saw the look on Tom's face, and she nodded.

The young doctor led Tom to a door farther down the hall, and opened it for him. Tom went inside to find his son lying shirtless on a table, and completely strapped down. The Mason father went over to him, and ran his hand through Hal's black hair.

 _"_ _I'm sorry." Hal told Tom, tears running down his face, his hands holding the gun firmly under his chin._

 _"_ _Hal!" Tom cried out._

Tom shook off the memory, the sound of the gun going off echoing through his ears.

"Tom?" The President didn't realize that Lourdes had entered the room. He pulled himself away from his son went over to the doctor. He reached in his jacket pocket, pulled out the device the rebel skitter had given him, and handed it to her.

"We have no idea if the bug is gone or not, but I do know that Hal would rather die than continue to live with Karen controlling him and causing him to hurt anyone else. And I am not going to let her take him from me." Tom told her. Lourdes nodded, and while Tom went to go inform his sons and Maggie, Lourdes started to prep for the procedure.


	3. Don't Let Go (3x06 Part 2)

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing

 ** _*Matt and Ben during Hal's surgery*_**

When Tom told Ben to take Matt away, he didn't hesitate. He did want to stay, but he didn't want Matt to see Hal in pain. Not that he wanted to see it either, but he wanted to be there with his big brother, just in case something happened.

The two youngest Mason brothers walked down the hallway, turned a corner, then Matt stopped. Ben looked down at his little brother.

"I want to stay close." Matt explained. Ben nodded, and they leaned against the wall. It didn't take long for Ben to regret agreeing to Matt's request.

Hal's screams were so loud that he didn't even need to use his super hearing. Ben grimaced at the sound. His big brother's screams were filled with so much pain, that he was grateful that he wasn't watching.

He looked over at Matt. The curly haired kid was on the verge of tears. Ben instinctively pulled the boy close to him, and held him tight. Matt immediately returned the hug, and let his tears full.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped. Ben looked towards the hallway that led to the room where Hal was, focusing his hearing on any noise that he could hear. Matt looked up at Ben, watching Ben's face for any clue as to what could be happening.

At first, everything was fine. Ben seemed to be okay with what he was hearing, whatever it was. Then, it changed to fear, with a mix of horror.

"HAL!" Matt didn't need super hearing to hear his father's shout. Ben and Matt immediately ran back towards the surgery room.

Neither Tom nor Maggie seemed to notice them, and they quickly realized why. Hal was lying limply on the table, and Lourdes was standing over him, holding a needle into his chest.

"Come on, Hal. Don't do this." Ben could hear Lourdes muttering under her breath. The sound of Maggie's muffled sobs also echoed through his ears, but he himself stood as still as a statue, in fear and pain, just like his father.

Matt's mouth formed the word 'no', as his tears started fall.

Lourdes pulled out the needle, and went to resume giving Hal CPR, when his chest suddenly heaved up, then went down, up and down, a gasp escaping his lips.

Tom took a relieved breath, putting his hand on the glass window separating him from his son. Matt went to stand right in front of the glass, putting both his hands on it, wishing for Hal to open his eyes. Ben came forward also, and put his hand on his little brother's shoulder. Partly to comfort him, and partly to keep himself standing as his legs were shaking under him.

Maggie buried her face in her hands, trying to collect herself. Even though Hal, the man that she loved, had literally died right before her eyes, a part of her couldn't help but be embarrassed that she was crying.

 _He's okay, he's okay._ Maggie mouthed to herself. Hal was okay, he was going to be okay.

 ** _*Ben and Matt go see Hal when he wakes up*_**

Ben lost count of how many hours he and Matt had been sitting in the infirmary waiting room in total. It was very late in the night, and they had been there ever since the early afternoon, after Hal had tried to shoot himself.

After getting the bug out of his big brother, Lourdes ran a whole lot of tests to make sure he was okay, and wasn't at risk of flatlining again. When Lourdes cleared him, and got him settled into a room, Tom and Maggie went to his room and stayed there, waiting for him to wake up. Tom refused to let Ben and Matt come though. He wanted to make sure the bug was 100 percent gone before he let his other sons in the room.

It was hours before Tom came out, though at that point, neither noticed. Ben was in the process of falling asleep in his chair, while Matt actually did fall asleep on top of Ben's lap.

"Boys?" Tom tried to get their attention as he knelt down in front of them. They both opened their eyes and Matt sat up.

"He's awake, and he's good. The bug is gone." Tom told them, with a relieved smile on his face.

"So, can we see him?" Matt asked.

"Yes, but, there is something you two need to know. Hal, he doesn't remember what happened. The last thing he remembers is something from last week." Tom informed the two.

"What? So, he has no clue that Anne and Lexi are missing?" Ben tried clarify.

"Well, he does now. I told him."

"Does he remember being controlled before that?" Matt questioned.

"Besides the nightmares Maggie said he had, no." Tom revealed.

"So, now what?" Ben wondered. He knew that since word had gotten out about Hal being controlled, everyone was beyond furious. They all wanted him dead, or at the very least, kicked out, and they had no idea what he actually did.

"Now, we wait for the rebel skitters to tell us where Anne and Lexi are, then we're going after them." Tom told them, and got to his feet. Ben and Matt stood up and followed their Dad to Hal's room.

When they entered the room, they saw Hal sitting up on the bed, his head in his hands. Maggie was sitting beside him, gently rubbing his shoulder. They both looked to the door when they heard it open. Maggie smiled when she saw them, but Hal's face was filled with mixed emotions.

Hal sat up straighter, and Matt couldn't hold himself back anymore. He ran towards the bed and threw his arms around his big brother. Hal froze, not really expecting that kind of response. Then, he heard Matt's sobs, and immediately wrapped his little brother in his embrace.

Ben stood back, letting Matt be with their big brother. He knew Hal had been through so much in the last few months, and needed comfort right now. Ben waited until Matt pulled away before he went and hugged him too.

In all honesty, Hal wasn't very surprised that Matt would hug him, but he definitely did not expect it from Ben. Growing up, Matt was always the one who seemed to need affection, Ben rarely did. Hal knew that his middle brother must've been very freaked out if he actually hugged him of his own free will, he usually only did that with Matt. But Hal returned the hug wholeheartedly.

"How are you feeling?" Ben asked, as he ended the hug.

"I got the mother of all headaches, but other than that, I'm fine. Just a little tired, and a little sore." Hal confessed. The image of Hal thrashing around on the table resurfaced, and Ben wasn't surprised at all that his brother was sore.

"Try to get some more rest, okay?" Tom told Hal, who nodded in agreement. Their father came forward, pressed a kiss against Hal's head before he left, saying he was going to find Weaver, but would be back soon.

Hal leaned down against the mattress while Matt climbed on to the foot of the bed. Maggie held her boyfriend's hand and stayed where she was, right by Hal's side. Ben sat down in the chair that Tom had been previously sitting in, keeping his eye on his brother.

If Hal had any objections to everyone staying in the room and keeping an eye on him, he didn't voice it. Instead, he closed his eyes and fell back asleep, completely content on being with his brothers and the woman he loved.

 ** _*Hal and Maggie talk before Hal leaves*_**

Hal was released from the infirmary the next day. While he was fine, Lourdes wanted to make sure there weren't going to be any side effects from the skitter device. Not to mention, his Dad believed he would be safer in the infirmary, where it was crowded, rather than the privacy of his room. Tensions were still very high among the people of Charleston, even though his Dad, Weaver, and even Marina made it very clear that he was not considered guilty of anything.

Going back to his room didn't mean much to Hal in the end though. That afternoon, the rebel skitters showed about. They had found where Karen was keeping Anne and Lexi. Hal was currently packing his bags, and Maggie ended up walking in on him, just like she did last time he tried to leave.

"You're packing." Maggie stated. When she had heard that the rebel skitters had found Anne and Lexi, she knew that the odds were she would walk in on Hal packing.

"Yeah, Dad wants to leave as soon as we can." Hal told her, keeping his eyes on the task at hand. He didn't want to see the look on her face.

"Hal-" Maggie started, but Hal immediately cut her off.

"Maggie, I have to go. It's my fault Karen has them, and who knows what else she made me do. I can't fix all that I've done, but I can try to fix this." Hal explained, finally looking her in the eye. Maggie knew there would be no talking him out of going this time. She found his jacket laying on his abandoned wheelchair, picked it up, and walked over to her boyfriend.

"None of this is your fault Hal, but I get it. Just, promise you'll be careful. And, come back as soon as you can." Maggie said, handing him his jacket. Hal didn't reply. Instead, he put the coat on the bed by his bag, then captured her lips with his, his arms circling her waist.

Hours later, Maggie stood in front of the crowd, and watched as Hal and his family rode off into the night. He never did promise to be safe, or to come back. Maggie wished she had gone with him.

 **AN** \- And that is the end of 3x06. If you guys want more scenes, or any scenes expanded from any episodes, let me know and I will see what I can do. Next chapter will be 3x09, then right to season 5. See you guys soon!


	4. Moving Forward (3x09)

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing.

 ** _*Maggie and Hal waiting to be found*_**

Maggie wondered how long she and Hal had been lying in the armory. It had felt like ages. She leaned against Hal, her head on his shoulder, while his head rested against hers. She was so tired, even breathing felt like the most difficult task she had ever tried to do.

"Hal, you still awake?" Maggie asked. She knew what she was feeling had to be worse for him. While she had been resting, trying to keep her strength up, he was moving around, exerting himself to try and find a way out.

She felt his head move against hers in a nod, but he didn't say anything. Maggie wondered if he even could. If talking and breathing was hard for her, it had to be much harder for him.

"Don't worry, they'll find us." She told him, her voice weak and quiet.

"Before or after we die?" Hal croaked. Maggie didn't have anything to say to that.

 ** _*Matt gets help from Weaver*_**

"Weaver! WEAVER!" Matt called out as he ran out of the tunnel towards the Colonel who was directing people where to go. He turned around at the sound of his name being called.

"What is it Matt?" Weaver asked, looking at the youngest Mason who came to a halting stop in front of him.

"We found Hal and Maggie. They're trapped in the armory. Don't know how much air they have left." Matt told him while trying to catch his breath. Weaver looked around, spotting two soldiers who were by a pile of rubble, trying to get through to the entrance.

"HEY! You two, get that drill over there and come with us. NOW!" Weaver ordered and he headed down to the tunnels with Matt in the lead, the other two soldiers right on their heels. They didn't stop running till they found Ben, who was standing under a broken pipe.

"They're right up here. They got the pipe open, so they are getting oxygen now, but we still need to get them out." Ben informed them of what was going on. Weaver walked over to the pipe.

"Hal? Maggie?" Weaver called out. It was a few moments before he heard Maggie's response.

"Hey Weaver."

"Don't worry you two, we'll get you guys out of there soon." The Colonel told them.

It took longer than any of them would've liked, but after about half an hour, they had drilled through the tunnel's ceiling and the armory's floor. Ben, using his super strength, managed to jump through the hole and into the room where Hal and Maggie were trapped.

Ben instantly felt how thin the air was. Just taking a breath was hard, and he felt slightly dizzy. If this was how he felt after only a few seconds, and that oxygen was now coming into the room, he knew Hal and Maggie had to be feeling worse.

He found the couple sitting in the corner of the room, Maggie right beside the pipe, and Hal on her left, his head resting on Maggie's shoulder. Her hand was wrapped around his head, holding him close to her, and his eyes were closed.

"You guys okay?" Ben asked, come to his knees in front of his big brother.

"We're fine." Maggie told him. Hal slowly opened his eyes at the sound of Ben's voice.

"Hey Ben." Hal said, giving his little brother a smile. Ben smiled back.

"Come on, let's get you both out of here." Ben moved to Hal's other side, swung his brother's arm around his shoulders, while wrapping his own arm around Hal's waist. Ben lifted Hal off the ground to his feet, while Maggie used the pipe to hold herself steady as she pushed herself off the floor.

Ben helped Hal towards the large opening in the floor. He lowered Hal to the ground, who slowly descended down the hole into the tunnel. Weaver and the other two soldiers were there to keep him steady as he hit the ground.

Hal immediately bent over and started coughing, the fresh oxygen hitting his weak lungs hard. Matt was suddenly at his side while Weaver held him up.

"Hal? Hal, are you okay?" Matt asked, his voice full of concern. As soon as the coughing fit ended, Hal nodded and croaked, "Yeah, I'm good."

Maggie came down next, the two soldiers keeping her upright as her weak legs hit the ground. She quickly realized why Hal had started coughing, because she did too. Luckily, it didn't last as long. Once the coughing subsided, she made her way to her boyfriend. Both Weaver and Matt had their arms around Hal's waist, though Weaver let go to come over to her.

"You all right, Maggie?" Weaver questioned. The woman nodded, and continued to Hal. He smiled at her as she took Weaver's spot at his side. After a few moments, Ben joined them, and together, they made their way out the tunnel.

 ** _*Lourdes finds out she's the mole*_**

When Lourdes woke up, she found herself lying on a cot in one of the cells in Charleston basement. Tom was on the other side of the cell, watching her. She sat up, but instantly regretted it when her head suddenly felt like a thousand nails were being pounded into her skull.

"Tom? What happened?" Tom looked angry, yet pained.

"You're the mole, Lourdes." The answer was given quickly, and said without giving any room for debate. Lourdes somehow lost the ability to speak, or think. She opened her mouth to argue, but then she felt them.

She could feel them scurrying around in her skull. There were more than one, and all of them felt to be in a state of panic. Lourdes brought her hands up to temples, holding her head.

"Oh, my G*d. What did I do?" The doctor whispered to herself. She didn't really expect an answer, and Tom didn't give her one either. She looked back up at the President. The expression didn't change, and she realized why. Anne, and Lexi. They were dead, and it was because of her.

"No, Anne and Lexi. No." Lourdes brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and cried. Tom didn't offer any sympathy, nor didn't he get angry and start laying the blame. He just watched. Lourdes didn't know what was going on in his head, and she couldn't bring herself to care. She was too lost in her grief, and her guilt.

 ** _*Hal talks to Tom about Lourdes*_**

The day had been beyond chaotic. Everyone was still working hard on clearing out the mess, and trying to patch up the buildings and walls that had been destroyed. Normally, Hal would've though that Tom would've been helping out, but no. The oldest Mason son found his Dad in Charleston makeshift jail, watching Lourdes sleep, while at least five eyebugs crawled around on her face.

"Dad?" Hal called out quietly as he entered the room. Tom looked up, not really surprised that Hal would've found his way down here.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Tom wondered. Matt had told him about what happened, or almost, happened to Hal and Maggie. He was beyond relieved that his son and the woman he considered family were okay.

"I'm fine. How's Lourdes?" Hal asked, coming to a stop beside Tom.

"She's asleep. But she is aware that she's being controlled now." Tom informed him. The emotionless tone in his father's voice made Hal wary. He had never heard his father's voice like that before, and he didn't like it.

"We should get Ben or Deni to see if we can get word to the rebel skitters, and get that hunter killer thing to get the bugs out of her." Hal suggested, but Tom's response was not what Hal would ever have expected.

"No, we need them."

"What?" Hal asked, looking at Tom in shock.

"If Karen still has her hooks in Lourdes, then we can use that to our advantage. We can use it to draw her out." Tom explained, not looking at his son's face.

"Dad, you can't do that. Lourdes is a person, not a tool. She's a person who is being controlled like a puppet. You can't just treat her like she's nothing more than a means to an end." Hal told him.

"We might need this in order to launch our attack. Due to everything that has happened today, we need to use everything we can to our advantage."

"Dad, using her like this, it's not right." At that, Tom finally looked over at Hal.

"Anne and Lexi are dead. Karen needs to go down." Tom's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"That's not Lourdes's fault. She's not anymore responsible than I was. Besides, how do you know it wasn't me who helped Karen take Anne and Lexi? We have no idea who actually did what. You can't just blame Lourdes for everything." Hal pointed out, anger and desperation pouring into his voice.

"Hal, I promise, once we are finished with our attack, we will connect the rebel skitters and get those bugs out of her. But she's one of our best advantages against Karen. We are not in a position to lose anything we can use." Tom told his son, but he could tell his son did not agree, and he didn't really expect him to.

"She's still a person. She's our friend Dad. Are you really willing to go this far for revenge?" Hal interrogated.

"This isn't about revenge, this is about winning a war." Tom pointed out.

"I don't recall you using me as bait for Karen. Are you sure this isn't also about revenge?" Hal questioned.

"Against Karen, maybe. I know it's not Lourdes's fault, but Karen needs to go down, you can't deny that. The sooner she's dead, the better. I don't care what I have to do to in order to accomplish that. And it's not up for debate." Tom didn't give Hal any time to argue with that.

Tom turned on his heels and headed up the stairs. He knew he was probably heading down a dangerous road, but he didn't care. Karen tortured him, tried to kidnap Ben, had Boon shot in front of them, threatened Lexi before she was even born, possessed Hal, experimented on Lexi, kidnapped both her and Anne, then killed them. She has to go down, she has to die.

Hal was left alone with the still sleeping Lourdes. Well, besides the guard that stood by the stairway. The young man made his way over to the cell door, and looked at the doctor. Bugs were still crawling on her face, going on her eyelids, mouth, and nose.

"Don't worry Lourdes. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. We'll get the bugs out, I promise." Hal wouldn't let anyone touch her. If everyone was somewhat willing to accept he wasn't to blame for what he did, he wasn't going to let her get the blame either. And he wasn't going to let anyone, not even his father, let her die for a vengeance trip.

 **AN** – And that concludes chapter 4. It really bugged me that there wasn't much between Lourdes and Hal, besides that one scene in 3x10. And I found it kinda disturbing that Tom and Weaver actually used Lourdes as bait like they did, and I don't think Hal would've liked that either, especially since, as far as we know, Lourdes didn't remember what Karen made her do. So, they both would be at a lose as to what they actually did. Next chapter skips to 5x02, which was suggested by JoyScott13. If anyone has any scenes they wished were in an episode, or expanded, or anything like that please don't hesitate to ask. See you guys soon!


	5. Anthing for You (5x02)

**AN -** So sorry for the long wait, I got busy with holidays and wrapping up a different story. Unfortunately, now that I'm back at school, updates might be a little more sporadic, especially since I've started writing another Falling Skies story which I will soon be posting. This chapter was suggested/requested by JoyScott13, and I hope you all enjoy.

 **Disclaimer** \- As usual, I own nothing

 ** _*Hal refuses to rest*_**

Hal watched as everyone started to line up for food. It had only been four days since the skitters had destroyed their food supply, and already the effects were starting to show. The food had been severely rationed, people were complaining, and two people had already tried to sneak in and steal more food for themselves. Hal wasn't sure how much longer they could go on.

As the line moved on, Hal could see the hunger in their eyes. His Dad tried to send out a team to scavenge, but every team came back empty handed. Either the place was already empty, or the skitters attacked before they could get far.

The barricade became a blessing and a curse. While it kept the skitters out, and made them easier targets, they incidentally trapped themselves inside. They couldn't get out without attracting attention, and no one had a solution.

Hal spotted Matt coming out the line, with his food in his hand. He could see the hunger in Matt's eyes too, and he hated it. Hal watched Matt go to one of the benches that had been set up by the tables. He sat alone, and started eating it slowly. Hal dropped what he was doing and went over to his youngest brother.

"Hey buddy. How're you doing?" Hal asked, sitting beside Matt on the bench.

"I'm fine." Matt answered as he finished eating. Hal reached into his pocket and pulled out his ration.

"Here." Hal offered him the food. Matt looked at what he was being offered, then up at his big brother.

"But it's yours." Matt protested.

"You need it more than I do." Hal told him. Reluctantly, Matt grabbed it. Part of him was ashamed that he was actually taking his brother's food, but he was already so hungry.

Matt ate it just as slowly as he did his own ration, trying to savor it as much as possible. Then he stopped, and handed some back to Hal. He looked up in confusion.

"You still need some too." Matt explained. Hal smiled and took the bit that Matt gave back. As soon as they both finished eating, Hal went back to work, while Matt went to find someway to help.

As the days continued, Hal meeting with Matt became routine. He would keep his food safe in his pocket until Matt got his. Then they would meet and Hal would give his food to his younger brother. The youngest Mason would take it, split it, and give it some back to the oldest. As time went on, and the food supply dwindled down, Hal started refusing the portion Matt would give back.

"I'm fine, you need it more than I do." Hal would tell him, and again, Matt would be too hungry to fight him. After two days of that though, the guilt of taking his brother's food weighed on him, and he tried to stop, but Hal wouldn't let him.

Matt was about to fight him on it, when he saw the other kids walking out of the food line, starvation in their eyes. So, he accepted it, then waited until Hal left before he went to one of the other kids, and gave him what his brother had forced him to take.

When Matt heard that they had figured out a way to send a team out for food, he was beyond excited. Not because he might finally be able to satisfy his constant hunger, but because Hal would actually eat something, not to mention everyone else could get something to eat. After 9 days, the 2nd Mass might finally get enough food to satisfy their stomachs.

 ** _*Hal and Ben talk before the food run*_**

The morning before the group left, Hal found Ben alone in the armory. He was grabbing extra clips for his gun.

"You ready for this run?" Hal asked. Ben looked up from what he was doing when he heard his brother's question.

"Yup, just making sure I have enough bullets." Ben answered. Hal approached his younger brother, putting his hand in his pocket. His fingers quickly found what was left of his food ration that he received today. Only half of what he received as the other half he gave to Matt. Earlier that day, when Matt tried to convince him to keep some of it, he agreed, for this reason only.

"Here, take this." Hal pulled his hand out and held it out to Ben, offering him the food. Ben looked up in surprise when he realized what Hal was trying to give him.

"But it's yours." Ben stated.

"I'm not the one going on food run. You need the extra energy." Hal explained.

"But-"

"Ben, just take it." Hal cut him off. The younger Mason looked from Hal's face to his hand. He couldn't deny that he was starving, and it was really hard to see the food in Hal's outstretched hand and not grab it.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. Hal gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, I'm sure." Hal told him. Ben took the food from his brother's hand, and took a bite.

"Thanks." Ben said, his voice muffled with the food in his mouth. Hal smiled at him and said, "Don't mention it."

After doing what he came to do, he wished his brother luck, then went back to work.

 ** _*Tom, Ben, and Matt find out Hal's awake*_**

As Anne was going bed to bed, checking her patients, she saw Hal awake, eating what looked like to be a pack of Pringles. Anne smiled and went over to her stepson.

"Look who decided to join us. How are you feeling Hal?" Anne questioned, coming to stand behind Maggie.

"I've been better. My head is killing me." Hal told her, remembering how much it hurt trying to sit up earlier.

"I'll bet. I'm going to get your Dad and brothers, you stay put." Anne ordered and made her way out of the infirmary.

The doctor quickly found her husband with Weaver, looking over what vehicles they would be taking to Washington. Tom didn't notice her until Weaver did.

"Hi, Anne." Weaver said, and Tom looked up.

"Hey, Weaver." Anne greeted back, and looked over at Tom and saw the unspoken question in his eyes.

"Hal's awake." The doctor told him and he immediately headed over to the infirmary.

"The kid gonna be okay?" Weaver asked.

"Oh yeah, he'll be fine. Just sore and tired." Anne replied, and was about to go find Ben and Matt when she saw them coming over to her. She had no idea where they had come from, but they must've seen her talk to their Dad and seen him head to the infirmary because they were looking very worried.

"Hal's awake." Anne said, telling them exactly what she told their father. Ben looked beyond relieved while Matt gave her the biggest smile she had seen in awhile. Then they both took off running towards the infirmary. Smiling at their behavior, Anne followed them though at a much slower pace.

As she entered the infirmary, she quickly found the family surrounding Hal's bed. Matt was sitting on the edge of the bed by Hal's hip, Tom was standing by the head of the gurney and Ben stood by the chair that Maggie was sitting in.

"You gave us quite a scare." Anne heard Tom tell his son.

"Sorry." Hal responded. He looked over at the people who were surrounding him, and smiled at them, trying to assure them that he was okay.

"I'm pretty sure I told you to get some rest." Tom told him.

"Too much to do." Hal said.

Matt was beyond relieved that Hal was awake. Ever since his brother had collapsed three days earlier, his guilt wouldn't let up, not that it should have. Hal passed out because he was starving and it was Matt's fault. Hal kept giving him his own food and Matt let him. He was too busy focusing on his own hunger instead of his brother's.

Unbeknownst to him, Ben was also feeling the same the thing, though maybe not as badly as his younger brother. He knew that Hal wasn't sleeping and that his hunger was making it worse. Yet he let his big brother talk him into eating his ration. While Ben was starving, he was pretty sure that his spikes were helping him handle it. Hal didn't have that luxury.

"Alright, now I know that we're all happy he's awake, but he still needs his rest." Anne unfortunately interrupted the reunion. Matt was about to protest when Tom cut in.

"She's right. Ben, Maggie, Weaver and I could use your help." Tom asked. Ben and Maggie nodded and she got up off the chair while Tom looked at Matt, then back at Anne, and the doctor knew what her husband was about to ask.

"Fine, Matt you can stay if you promise to let him rest." Anne decided. Matt beamed and sat down in the chair that Maggie had just vacated. Tom then lowered his head closer to Hal and said, "Get some sleep, we'll check on you later."

After they left, Matt felt Hal grab his hand. He looked up at his big brother's face. He was giving the younger Mason a smile. Matt tried to smile back, but couldn't bring himself to commit to it.

"It's not your fault, you understand me?" Hal confirmed. Matt wanted to argue, but could tell it would be pointless. Despite how tired his brother look, he could still pull off a pretty good pointed look/glare when he wanted to.

"Yeah." Matt agreed. He watched as his brother closed his eyes and went back to sleep, while Matte slowly fell asleep himself on the chair.

 **AN** \- Next chapter will be missing scenes from 5x05. Remember, if there's any episodes that any of you think are missing a lot of scenes and you want me to write about it, just let me know and I shall put it in. It can be specific scenarios with specific characters or not. See you all soon!


	6. The Problem with Secrets (5x04)

**Disclaimer** – Own nothing.

 **AN** – I know, it's been far too long since I've updated, but this semester had more classes meaning more homework and just more work in general for me. And I have been working on another Falling Skies story that I started, Will to Survive, so I decided to focus on that for the time being. But I'm back now! So this chapter is a little short, but I hope you guys like it! Please review and

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*Maggie finds out what all happened between Tom and Pope*_**

"You go out on one food scouting mission and you miss everything." Maggie commented to Ben as he told her that Pope and his gang had been kicked out of the 2nd Mass, "So, what did he do this time?"

"At first it was the usual. Blame my Dad for everything, refusing to help, and tell him that he is a hypocrite. Then it got to the point where my Dad took the gun in Pope's hand and put it against his head and told Pope if he thought it was best that he had to die, then do it."

"What?" Maggie asked with disbelief and shock, sitting down at the table with her cup of coffee.

"Yeah. Then Pope said that killing him would be to easy. After that, Dad told him and anyone who wanted to go with him to be gone by tomorrow." Ben finished as he sat down across from her with his own cup.

"Well, your Dad was crazy to do that, but kicking Pope out was a good call. If you ask me, he should've been kicked out a long time ago." Maggie said.

"Not going to argue with that." Ben agreed, then saw Matt coming towards them out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey Matt, what's up?" Ben asked as his younger brother came to stand beside him.

"Have you seen Hal? He should've been off from sentry duty by now, but I can't find him." Matt replied.

"No, haven't seen him for a few hours. Maybe he went bed. After all, we're leaving early in the morning and it's not like many of us have been getting much sleep lately." Ben suggested, even though he could tell something about that was off. Hal usually stayed up and tried to help as much as possible before someone basically ordered him to get some rest. And Matt looked very worried.

"Maybe." Matt responded.

"He might be with your Dad or Weaver." Maggie chimed in, also noticing the look on the youngest Mason's face.

"He's not with Weaver. I saw him telling some of the other fighters which vehicles to drive. Hal wasn't with him. And I haven't seen Dad around either." Matt informed them, and Ben now was getting a little worried as well as more confused.

He couldn't really say anything about their Dad. His behavior had been off ever since he had gotten back the moon, but Hal was not the type of person to just up and disappear. Given their family track record, Hal knew that it would only cause his family and Maggie to start worrying. Before Ben could say anything else, Anne, who he had not noticed at all, came over to them.

"There you guys are. I was looking for you two." Anne started, but Matt instantly cut her off.

"Do you know where Hal is?"

"That's actually what I came to talk to you guys about. Hal and your Dad left to go scout ahead for us." Anne informed them.

"What?" Maggie was stunned that they were only being told about this now.

"When did they decide this? And how come we didn't know about this until now?" Ben asked Maggie's unspoken question.

"It was a very sudden thing. Your Dad and Hal were out doing a short patrol and saw a few skitters and thought it would be best to go ahead and make sure there won't be any trouble on the road. Since we're heading out tomorrow and they wanted to get head start, so they had to go quickly." Anne explained.

"But, Hal didn't even come and say goodbye." Matt replied, remembering how before every single mission Hal went on, he would always come and say goodbye.

"I know, but it was such a rushed thing. We'll meet up with them soon, don't worry. Everything's fine. Get some sleep alright?" Anne assured them, and walked away, taking a deep breath as the guilt for lying to her stepsons and friend started to settle into her stomach.

 ** _*Anne and Weaver talk about Tom and Hal*_**

"Anne?" Weaver said as he stood in the doorway to Anne and Tom's room. The doctor was currently packing her bags with her and Tom's clothes.

"You okay?" The Colonel asked.

"I'm fine. Just need to finish packing. One of us should probably pack Hal's stuff. He's not going to be able to do it, and with that stupid note on the wall, no one else can. Unless of course we want to tell the truth." Anne replied, not stopping her actions at all.

"I can do it. But, are you okay?" Weaver asked.

"My husband is gone to save his son, my stepson, from a man who is willing to kill them both out of revenge. And I now have to keep lying to my other stepsons in order to keep them from going out and possibly getting themselves killed, in order to help their Dad and brother." Anne replied.

"You know Tom. He'll be back, with Hal. It's not the first time Tom and Pope have gone at it either. They'll be fine." Weaver tried to assure her, but she shook her head.

"Not like this. If they aren't back in 72 hours, I'm going after them." Anne informed him.

"Anne, you can't." Weaver told her.

"And why can't I?" Anne demanded to know.

"Because if you do, Ben, Matt, and Maggie will find out, unless of course you want to bring them with you. And we have no idea where Pope has Hal. Even Tom didn't know. After 72 hours, we'll be a long way from here, and a lot farther from where Pope is." Weaver explained. Anne looked like she wanted to argue, but didn't say anything as she sat down on the bed. He waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he walked over to his friend.

"I don't like this situation anymore than you do, but there isn't anything we can do about it. If we want to give Tom and Hal their best chance of getting out alive, we have to play by Pope's rules right now, and that means only Tom can go. And if we want to keep Ben, Matt, and Maggie from doing something stupid, we have to keep this from them."

"I know. But, they will figure it out, that Tom and Hal aren't scouting ahead if they don't come back soon." Anne pointed out, knowing that neither of Tom's sons were idiots, nor was Maggie.

"Then we will tell them, but we can't let them go out to try and find them. They'll probably do more harm than good." Weaver answered. Anne nodded, though still looked angry and frustrated. Weaver didn't blame her, this was not an easy position to be in, but they didn't have a choice.

"Get some sleep. It's late, and we leave first thing." Weaver told her and waited until she nodded before he headed for his own room to get some sleep himself.

As he walked towards his room, Weaver found himself praying that both his friend, and his friend's son would somehow be okay, and get out of this alive. Because if they didn't, one specific criminal was going to regret the day he ever came across the 2nd Mass.

 **AN** – I know, it's a little short but besides these scenes, I couldn't think of anything else to add. I know a lot of people, myself included, are unhappy with the way the writers handled Hal's kidnapping but since I'm trying to keep this all canon, I thought I would expand on the characters reasoning for why they did what they did. If there is any episode you guys want missing scenes for, let me know and I will see what I can do. Next chapter will be dealing with scenes from 5x05 Non-Essential Personnel. Though I don't know when I'll be able to finish it because I do unfortunately have finals coming up, and Will to Survive to finish. But I promise I will get to it as soon as I can.

 **To Jubs** – Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying my stories and I am happy that I can add some Hal fanfics for you. As you might've guessed, Hal is my favorite character too. Will to Survive actually gets updated once a week, because I do get behind at writing sometimes because of schoolwork. Next chapter will be up on Wednesday, so not much longer. Again, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Kindness of Strangers (5x05)

**Disclaimer** – I still own nothing.

 **AN** – So, yeah, this update is really late. I'm really, really, very sorry about that. My life has been crazy for the last few months with working, then looking for new jobs and all that, as well as writing other fanfictions. And since I've written two au's to this episode on what could've happened during and after this episode, I found it harder to go back to what originally happened in the show, especially with the scenes I decided to write about and expand on, so I'm really sorry it took me this long. This chapter is actually about Isabella because even though I'm a hardcore Halgie shipper, I do like Isabella and thought it would be interesting to see more of her side of the story, especially since I excluded her from my au's.

 **To Mahtayyar** – Thank you so much for your review and your reviews on my other stories! I completely agree with 100%, Falling Skies while an amazing show, really suffered because of lack of character development, and glossing over so many things that happened to the characters, which is why I thought of writing these scenes. And don't even get me started on the love triangle. That was the worst idea the writers could possibly come up with and yes, Hal really did go easy on them which did bug me.

I will try harder to write more for this story but if I do fall behind again, I'm very sorry. On the plus side though, this chapter is a lot longer than others. I'm done talking now. Besides, you guys probably want to read the chapter now, so here it is.

 **Enjoy!**

It didn't take long for Isabella to realize what kind of man leading this group, Pope, was. She was always suspicious of new people, especially people that came out of no where and helped her. After all, people don't help others for nothing. When the black guy with a scar on his face, Anthony, started asking everyone random and strange questions, her suspicions heightened. But when Pope started talking about not taking 'non-essential personal', Isabella put the pieces together.

He was a man who thought that only fighters were useful. He was a man who believed in survival of the fittest, and in the war-torn world humankind has found themselves in, the fittest were the fighters.

Anthony proved that she was right when he pointed at four people, Beth and her father Drew, Rob, and her. She wasn't surprised at his choices. Drew was not a fighter, and had the appearance of a feeble old man. Beth was still a teenager, and a complete sweetheart and doting daughter. She could never raise her hand in violence. Their strategy was to hide and wait the war out.

Rob being picked was a little more of a surprise. He was young, fit, healthy, a perfect stereotype of a fighter. That was only his physical state though. If they were looking at his emotional state however, then they might have a problem.

Rob's wife died sometime last night. He spent the rest of the night crying over her, trying to get her to wake her up. If Isabella hadn't been so preoccupied with keeping the skitters from breaking into the building, she would've felt her heart break at the sight and the grief. But there was no time for grief when you were trapped in a war zone, and these men who rescued them knew that. With her death still so very fresh, he would not be able to focus, could freeze and get himself and others killed. They couldn't have that.

Her thoughts turned away from her friends and onto herself when realizing that she had also been picked. Immediately, thoughts of how to get the leader to let them stay started running through her head. It didn't take long for her to remember that fighters get hurt in battle, and when that happens, they need someone to fix them.

"I'm a nurse, you could use me." She spoke up. The leader agreed with her. So, he wasn't a complete idiot, he knew that there were people who weren't fighters who could be useful. Deciding to try and include her friends, hoping that Pope could eventually find some use for them, she told them they were a packaged deal. Pope however, was not that desperate to have a nurse among his group. So, Isabella let them leave, planning on regrouping with them later as soon as she got some weapons.

It didn't take long for that to happen. She watched Pope and Anthony head into the paint shop, coming out a few minutes later with their arms filled with guns. Anthony started handing out the weapons to the newcomers while Pope locked the door. That put a small kink in her plan. In order to get more weapons and ammo, she would have to get the keys without Pope noticing. Luckily, it was the leader who came to hand her a small handgun and, seizing the opportunity, she carefully swiped the keys from his jacket pocket without him noticing.

An hour later though, Anthony came over and told Isabella that Pope wanted to see her. Whether it was because he realized his keys were missing, or because of how she stuck up for her friends, she didn't know. It could've been either as she knew that sticking up for her friends could have some repercussions with the cold-hearted leader. But still playing it cool, she followed Anthony into the building.

Seeing the leader on his chair, he looked like an evil king on his throne in a movie. As he started talking, she hid the relief she felt when she realized it wasn't about his missing keys, but about how she stuck up for the people Pope sent away. That would be easier to explain than explaining his missing keys.

Lying was something that oddly enough, came fairly easy to her. Her mother used to say that it was because growing up, she was surrounded by politicians, so she learned what to say and how to act when trying to get people to believe her and act or react a certain way. That was probably true, especially when her mother died, and her Dad ended up taking her on all of his business trips with her. Pope was no exception to that. All she had to do, was convince him that her thoughts lined up with his.

Leaning forward, he said, "If I had a beer, I'd drink to that." Hook, line, and sinker. She got him. What he said next though completely threw her.

"Since we're talking truth, there's a man behind that door. I put him there." Isabella tried her best to hide her shock and keep her face neutral. She had just gotten Pope back on her side and didn't want to risk losing it again.

"His father, killed someone very close and important to me." Pope revealed as he stood up and came to stand behind her.

"So you took something important to him." Isabella reasoned. Growing up as a diplomat's daughter, she was all to aware of the threat of being used to threaten her father, or to hurt him. It was simply a part of their life, she didn't have to fake understanding that. If someone hurts you or someone you love, you don't respond by hurting them, you hurt the person they love.

 _"_ _Pope? Pope, are you there?"_ A voice suddenly broke through the silence that fell upon them and Isabella couldn't have been more grateful, as Pope finally took his attention off of her. She looked over to the side where the noise was coming from and saw a walkie talkie.

"There's Daddy now." Pope said, then walked away, grabbing the communication device as he went.

For the next few minutes, Isabella tried not to pay any attention as to what was going on. She didn't want Pope thinking that she was sticking her nose into something that really was none of her business even though he had just told her what he was doing. However, since Pope was still in the same room as her, she couldn't help but overhear some of it.

It sounded like Pope had given the father a place to go, leading him to believe that his son was there when he wasn't. As Pope and his little posse walked away though, Isabella stood up, falling them very slowly, not really sure what to do. She was torn between leaving the building and keeping her nose out of their business, or waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Don't you say that name! You don't say that name! I'll cut his heart out right here, right now if you say that again." Pope suddenly yelled into the walkie talkie. Isabella quickly figured out that something was about to happen and couldn't help but want to know what it was, even though the safest option was probably to go outside.

Though she couldn't fully hear the father's response, and couldn't get a good look on Pope's face, she saw enough of it to know that the leader was about to do something rash.

"It's not too late for me? Oh there you go again Mason, barking orders. You really have no idea how much trouble he's in, do you? But when you hear his voice, then you'll see, exactly how not in control you really are." Pope's voice, though not as loud as before, was crystal clear, even as he started walking towards a door that was barely in Isabella's line of sight. Though she was somewhat curious as to what Pope was actually going to do, she stood still, not wanting Pope to think that she was judging him or getting in his way.

The next thing she heard was the sound of loud, pain-filled screams and couldn't help but wince at the sound. She slowly walked closer to the room, wondering if Pope would want her to help the person he just made scream.

The minute the screams died down, she heard Pope yell, "Still not too late for me?!"

Isabella didn't hear the rest of the conversation, and came even closer to the room, just in time for Pope to ask her to find a first aid kit to make sure 'he' didn't bleed out.

She finally approached the room, just as Pope walked out. The three men with Pope, Anthony, Zack and Nico stood by the door, looking at the young man inside. For a moment, Isabella didn't say or do anything, just looked curiously at Pope's prisoner.

He had black hair, and looked to be an adult, around his 20's, mid 20's maybe. Isabella couldn't say for sure, not with his body position the way it was. His head was down and was trying to stop the bleeding on his arm with his other arm. Quickly regaining her wits, she turned to the three soldiers that were still with her.

"Unless any of you know where the med kit is, or want to help, why don't you find something better to do?" Isabelle suggested to the soldiers, though her tone made it clear that she was actually ordering them to leave. Nico and Zack looked a little surprised, but shrugged their shoulders and turned and walked away.

"I'll go get you the first aid kit." Anthony said as he passed her. Isabelle nodded her head once, letting him know that she heard him, but kept her eyes on the young man that looked to be handcuffed to an old game machine. She waited until Anthony came back with the kit though before she actually entered the room.

She walked over to the young man with the kit in her hands as confident as she could, not wanting Pope's prisoner to know just how on the edge she was. Isabella was still slightly freaked out due to Pope's behaviour just minutes earlier and now she had to stitch someone up. She had never even had stitches before, much less given them to someone else.

The young man didn't look over at her until she had knelt down beside him. He had dark brown eyes, strong jaw, and black eye. He didn't say anything, staying just as silent as she was. It wasn't until she opened the med kit and pulled out some gauze that he spoke.

"You're Isabella, right?" The brunette looked over at the young man in shock. How did he know her name? He must've quickly figured out why she was surprised because he explained, "I heard Pope say your name."

"Yes, I'm Isabella." She answered as she started wiping the blood away from the injury so she could get a better look at the cut and stitch it up.

"I'm Hal." The black-haired man told her. She nodded, letting him know that she heard him, but didn't say anything else. Isabella had one thing on her mind, and that was getting her hands on a weapon and getting out of here. Making friends with Pope's prisoner was not part of that plan, and it wouldn't do any good to add it to the plan either.

"So, how did you wind up here? You with the group Pope found?" The man, Hal, asked. Apparently he was a talker and hadn't realized that she wasn't, or maybe he didn't care. Isabella looked up for at him for a split second with a somewhat annoyed yet poker-faced expression before she turned her attention back to her task.

"I'm going to assume that's a yes." Hal muttered. He was then quiet for a little while as she started to get the needle and thread, but when she kept failing to get the thread through the small hole, he asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Again, Isabella didn't say anything. Once she finally threaded the needle though, she didn't hesitate to jab it into his skin. Hal grunted at the suddenly added pain, but stopped talking, which was exactly what she wanted. After all, talking to people leads to knowing them, knowing them leads to caring, and the last thing she needed was to end up caring about somebody. Caring only gets people hurt, especially in a war zone.

Hal was silent as she stitched up the injury on his arm, that one grunt of pain when she started was the only sound he made. She made a quick peek at him, and saw that his jaw was clenched tightly. He was only being quiet now because he was trying to keep any sound of pain from escaping. Once she was done though, and started to wrap the cut, he started talking again.

"Come on, at least say something, I've been trying to get you to talk for the past 20 minutes." Hal said, with a somewhat frustrated tone. When she continued to keep her mouth shut, he tried a different tactic.

"I overheard you when you were outside. Those people Pope made you leave behind, I think you stuck your neck out for them because you care. And you're playing it cool, calm, but I can tell you're scared." _Okay, that was a little scary_ , Isabella thought to herself. She was not expecting him to be able to read her that easily, and if he could, it wouldn't be long before Pope did, if he hadn't already.

"You have to stop talking." Isabella told him. Hal somewhat grinned as he scoffed.

"Oh, she speaks. And she wants me to shut up, maybe cause I'm telling her the truth she doesn't want to hear?" Hal suggested, then looked over at her, clearly expecting an answer.

"You don't know what you're talking about. I've got it under control." She insisted.

"No, you don't. He's insane. Trust me on that." Hal immediately objected.

"Yeah, the more crazy and brutal they are, the longer they stay in charge." She explained, grabbing the tape so she could finish wrapping the injury.

"Wow, I feel sorry for you if you actually believe that." Hal replied in a clearly stunned tone.

"I believe enough of it." She told as she finished, and stood up to put the supplies back in the bag. Despite doing her best to remain distant from him, she felt sorry for him and decided to let him know that. His answer though completely took her by surprise.

"I'm alright. I'll feel sorry for you when Pope finds out you're not a nurse." Isabella was on her way to the door when Hal responded to her, and when her brain registered what he said, she stopped and looked back to see a knowing look on his face as he explained, "I've got a 13-year-old brother who can stitch better than that."

"I was a bit rushed." She said, trying to keep up the act. She didn't need to risk letting anyone, especially Pope, know that she was lying about her 'profession'.

"Bulls**t. You're not a nurse. You think he's not going to figure it out?" Hal wondered, though she knew that already knew the answer to that. But she only needed to keep up the act a little longer so she could get more weapons and make her escape. Hal, not knowing about her plan, offered her his.

"Listen to me. I can get you to my people safely. If Pope is-" Hal started then immediately stopped once he heard the first steps coming into the room.

"If Pope what?" Pope cut in as he entered the room, staring at Pope, clearly wanting an answer. Suddenly feeling trapped, Isabella wracked her brain for a way out. It was either to lie again and hope that Pope wouldn't catch it, assuming that he hadn't heard what they were talking about before he came into the room. Or be honest and earn a little bit more of Pope's trust which could come in handy later down the road.

"He's trying to make me to let him go." Isabella decided to go with the honest route. Though already she felt a twinge of regret, knowing that it could cause some repercussions for Hal, she pushed it down.

"Is that right? He putting up a good argument?" Pope asked, sounding genuinely curious, though Isabella knew that he was actually testing her. She glanced over at Hal quickly, seeing that he was already turning his head away, but she did catch the somewhat disappointed and knowing expression in his eye.

"No." Isabella ultimately said, looking over at Pope, the twinge of guilt getting worse when she looked over at the young man. Pope tilted his head towards the door, silently telling her to leave to the room. That was all Isabella needed to grab the bag and rush out of the room.

She dropped the bag by the door, then rushed outside, needing a breath of fresh air. Everything that happened in the last half an hour had completely thrown her. She felt nauseated when she realized that she had just stitched someone up, had pushed a needle into someone's flesh again and again. It was made even worse as she also realized that by telling Pope how he had tried to convince her to help him, she might have made things worse for him.

Isabella didn't know why she was caring about Hal. She hadn't met him until half an hour ago, didn't even know that he that existed. Whatever happened between his father and Pope, and why Pope was holding him prisoner, and whatever he had planned, wasn't any of her business. While she knew that situation wasn't good and that no matter what happened, no one deserved to be held prisoner and tortured the way Pope had done and was probably going to continue doing, she couldn't get involved.

There was something about Hal though, something that was already getting to her, getting under her skin even though she had barely talked to him. Maybe it was the way it had so easily read through her lies and act and found the truth. Maybe it was the fact that despite her turning on him once Pope came into the room, he said nothing about knowing that she wasn't a real nurse. He didn't have to keep her secret, yet he did. Isabella reasoned that it was because it wouldn't really help him at all and get rid of any chance of getting her to help him, but deep down, she knew that wasn't it. There was just something about him, something that seemed familiar to her, but she had no idea what.

The screeching of a hornet and sounds of guns going off pulled Isabella out of her train of thought. She quickly spotted the alien and ducked for cover. Once she was somewhat hidden by all the police car, she pulled out her handgun, ready to shoot the invader, but at that time, it was gone. Isabella came out of hiding to see one of the men who was with her in the ghetto, Ken, lying on the ground, clutching his leg in pain. She quickly ran to his side to see what was wrong, she was pretending to be a nurse after all. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pope coming towards them.

"Can he walk?" Pope questioned as he stalked over towards them. Isabella looked down at Ken's leg again, trying to see the damage.

"I don't know." Isabella told Pope though as she continued to try and examine her squirming patient.

"What do you mean you don't know? Can he fight or not?" Pope demanded, voice filled with anger that she didn't have an immediate answer for him.

"I don't know, I just more time to examine him." She barely finished her sentence before Pope pulled out his gun and fired directly at Ken, killing him instantly. Isabella jumped back in shock, as did the others who were around the now dead man.

"No liabilities." That two-worded sentence was the only reason Pope gave for his actions before he turned and started heading back into the building. Isabella turned her attention back to Ken's dead body and it stayed there until Anthony told some other fighters to bury him out back. Less than five minutes later, Zack came over to them.

"Pope wants you back inside." Zack said as he walked passed her. Isabella was slightly confused, as Pope was just outside and could've talked to her then, but did as she was told, quickly finding him putting another clip in his handgun by the couches.

"Need you to go check on him again." Pope told her, tilting his head in the direction of the room where Hal was. Though she was, again, a little confused, though this time by why he needed her to check on his prisoner again since she pretty much just left him only about 15 minutes ago, at most, Isabella nodded and went to grab the first aid bag before going back into the room.

Hal was leaning against the edge of the machine he was chained up to, breathing heavily, like he had just run a marathon and had no energy left. Feeling a sudden surge of worry for the young man, Isabella rushed over to him, dropping the bag as she reached his side. Hal didn't seem to notice her, his eyes were shut and he was clenching his jaw. Isabella easily saw the blood running down from his nose and running down his forehead. Neither were there before, and when she looked back down at his arm, she saw the white bandages were now stained with red.

When she moved to reach for the med bag, she saw the bottle of water that Pope had when he came into the room earlier lying on the other side of the room. She had heard Pope talking to Hal when she was leaving the room, about how apparently it had been over a day since Hal had any water. Knowing that the water would help, she went over and grabbed it before she made her way back over to Pope's prisoner.

"Here, drink." Isabella told him, holding the bottle to his lips. His eyes cracked open, finally realizing that someone was there and what she was offering him. He opened his mouth and started gulping down the water until it was completely empty, which was when Isabella pulled it away and placed it on the floor.

"Thanks." Hal whispered. Isabella looked up at him, seeing that though his eyes were still only half open, they were alert, and sincere.

"You're welcome." Isabella responded. They sat in silence for a moment before she reached over and helped him sit up straight. The water seemed to have helped because the daze he seemed to be in only moments before was slowly wearing off as she unwrapped his arm. Seeing that a few of the stitches had torn, Isabella steeled her stomach while she grabbed the needle and thread. Quickly, and more confidently than before, she re-stitched the cut.

"What happened out there?" Hal asked, having actually stayed pretty quiet since she came back into the room. Isabella assumed it was because he was somewhat recovering from whatever abuse Pope had laid on him while she was gone, but seemed to have gotten better now.

"Hornet attacked. Ken broke his ankle so Pope shot him right in front of me." Isabella explained as she re-wrapped Hal's injured arm yet again.

"Writing's on the wall. You can see that. If you stay here, you're dead." Hal told her.

"I know. That's why I'm leaving." Isabella decided to reveal.

"You are?" Hal sounded completely surprised. Apparently, he hadn't seen through her act enough to figure that part of her plan out.

"Yeah, staying with Pope was never part of the plan." Isabelle stopped her actions to lift up her shirt so Hal could see the gun, the lowered it as she said, "Gave it to me a couple of hours ago. While he was doing that, I borrowed these." Isabella then pulled out the full key chain from her pocket before putting it back, "Told you I had it under control. They put all the guns in the paint shop. That's my last stop before I get the h*ll out of here."

"Well, colour me impressed. So, you going to release me?" Hal asked, causing Isabella to scoff.

"You still don't trust me?" Hal questioned.

"Of course not." Isabella immediately replied. She had no real reason to trust him. Sure, he didn't tell Pope about how she wasn't a nurse, but that didn't mean she was going to risk anything to help him out. If she did, and Pope found out, it would be both their heads.

"The 2nd Mass will take you in, we're good people. If you can read me half as well as you can read Pope you know I'm telling you the truth." Hal argued as Isabella finished wrapping his arm.

"I've been with good people before." She retorted before she stood up and started to make her way to the door.

"Well, we're different." Hal insisted, causing her to turn around to look back at him.

"Everyone says they're different." Isabella said, walking backwards to the door.

"We're putting the world back to the way it used to be, and we're doing that by being there for each other. That's how we started, that's how we're going to end."

 _Isabella, everything starts and ends with people just being there for each other_ , Isabella remembered her father's voice telling her. It was something he would say a lot, especially when people asked him why he would help others out when they couldn't do anything for him. As Isabella looked at Hal now, everything clicked. He reminded her of her father.

The light that was in his eyes despite the situation he was in, the fact that despite what she decided he was still trying to convince her otherwise, the way he could read her in seconds of talking with her, it was exactly like her father. Before Isabella knew it, she was walking back over to him.

"If this is a trick-" Isabella warned as she walked closer to Hal, pulling the keys out of her pocket yet again.

"It's not, I promise." Hal assured her, his brown eyes filled with such honesty and sincerity that she had never seen before. She quickly reached his side, leaned down and unlocked the handcuffs. Hal rubbed his wrists as he stood up and looked at her.

"Follow me." Isabella told him, turning around and walking towards the door without waiting to see if Hal was behind her. From the sound of heavier footsteps on the floor though, she knew he was.

Very carefully, the two made their out through the bowling alley. Luckily for them, the hornet attack had everyone outside watching the perimeter, getting ready for another one. It left the path to the paint shop wide open. Using the keys she had stolen, they went inside and immediately started gathering all the weapons and ammo they could get their hands on, putting them in bags that Isabella had already found earlier. Once they had enough, the two exited the building, heading towards the Bronco so they could make their escape.

It was then everything went to h*ll. There was gunfire happening by the door, and she could hear Hal yelling out something, but with the guns going off, she had no idea what. All she knew was that people were shooting and that they had been caught trying to leave. With the other gun she had taken from the paint shop, she started firing back at the members of Pope's group.

"Come on! We gotta go!" Hal suddenly shouted to her as he climbed into the police Bronco on the driver's side. She immediately got into the passenger seat, handing him the keys as she did so. He immediately started up the vehicle and drove out of the camp.

Once they were a good distance away, Hal explained to her what happened. His Dad had arrived and must've ran into Pope as they were shooting at each other. Then a hornet showed up and grabbed his father, and that they had to find him before they could return to his group, the 2nd Mass. Isabella understood Hal's train of thought, if her father was alive and had been taken by an alien, she'd go looking for him to before joining up with whatever group they were with. But as the night ended and morning came, Isabella started getting frustrated.

"How many more time do we need to circle this area?" Isabella finally asked, telling from the position of the sun that it was sometime in the mid-morning.

"As many as it takes, I got to find my Dad." Hal immediately replied. Isabella let out a small sigh, about to point out that his Dad might not be in the area when Hal said, "Look I can't believe it's taken me this long to say this, but thank you, for getting me out of there."

"You got yourself out. It was something you said." Isabella told him, looking out of the window.

"Yeah, what was that?" Hal asked with a slightly unbelieving voice, like he didn't actually think anything he said could've changed her mind.

"That everything starts and ends with just being there for each other." Isabella answered, looked over at him. He turned his head to glance at her before looking back at the road.

"My Dad used to say something similar. Then I realized all I was talking about was surviving, and all you were talking about was living." When she said that, they looked at each, their eyes meeting for just a moment before again, he turned his eyes back on the road.

She let out a small, lone, chuckle as she thought about her Dad and what he would say to her if he had been there to see how she was so focused on surviving that she had forgotten about living. Looking back over at Hal who was scanning their surroundings intensely, she smiled. It was good that someone knew the difference and wanted to live, not just survive. Maybe he could teach her how to be like that again.

 **AN** – So for Rob, Beth, Drew, Zack and Nico, I found all the information on the Falling Skies Wiki, just like I do with every character that I don't know much about and/or want to include. That's where I got their characters' names and stories. Next chapter will be about 5x06 which will feature Matt finding out about Hal being kidnapped, Tom taking care of Hal once they're reunited, and a Ben and Hal reunion and possibly more of a Hal and Maggie reunion. Remember, if you guys have any ideas or suggestions for scenes that you want to see, feel free to ask, even if I've already done a chapter for that episode. Until next time.


	8. Slowly Getting Back to Normal (5x06)

**Disclaimer** – Still own nothing.

 **To scienceficfan24** – Thanks for your review! I will definitely be writing more chapters for this story and have at least three more stories for Falling Skies I will be writing. Hope you like this chapter!

 **AN** – And I'm back! I am trying to get these chapters written and posted faster than I have in the past, but again, I can't make any promises. I am basically working two jobs right now, and have been working on my Teen Wolf fic, my Supergirl fic, and a brand-new Falling Skies fic that I haven't started posting yet. Now that my Teen Wolf fic is finished, I am hoping I will have more time to work on this story. As of right now, I only have four more chapters that I am planning to write and post for this story. If anyone has any suggestions for missing scenes from episodes of Falling Skies, or expanded scenes, or scenes in between seasons, please let me know! Other than that, I hope you all like this chapter!

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*Ben tells Matt the truth about what's going on with their Dad and Hal*_**

It doesn't take long after Anne tells Ben and Maggie the truth about his Dad and Hal that Ben realizes that Matt doesn't know. After all, there is no way Anne would tell his youngest brother and not him. Matt would be more likely to do something stupid if he knew while Ben would be logical about it. It was the reason why he had let Anne talk him and Maggie into staying with the 2nd Mass instead of rushing off to go find his Dad and rescue his brother from Pope.

However, despite Matt's tendency to be extremely reckless at times, especially if he was angry and/or worried about someone, Ben knew that Matt had a right to know where their older brother and Dad actually were and what was going on. So, Ben made his way over to the pickup truck where the kid he was looking for was helping two others unpack the vehicle.

"Hey Matt. How's it going?" Ben questioned with a small grin so his little brother wouldn't know that something was wrong.

"It's going." Matt replied, grinning back. As his older brother continued coming towards, the curly-haired kid asked, "Have we heard anything from Dad and Hal yet? If they were scouting ahead, they should be here."

Biting back a sigh, Ben said, "Why don't you come with me? I want to talk to you."

Matt didn't say anything for a long moment. The fact that Ben didn't immediately answer his question already told him something was up, something was going on. Coupled with the nervous look in his brother's eyes and that he suddenly wanted to talk to him, probably alone told him that whatever was going on, was something bad. So, wordlessly, Matt nodded and followed Ben away from the small crowd.

"Where are we going?" Matt questioned as they continued walking away from the camp the other 2nd Mass members were setting up.

"Somewhere quiet." Ben answered, keeping his eyes on the road they were walking down. Matt stayed silent for another few minutes, following his brother closely, but when they turned down another road that was completely empty, he stopped in his tracks.

"What's going on Ben?" Matt demanded to know. Ben stopped walking when Matt said that, just now realizing his little brother had stopped, then came forward to stand in front of him.

"Just so you know, I only just found out the truth myself, I was kept in the dark too." Ben said, needing Matt to know that first before he told him about Hal and their Dad. If Matt thought that Ben had been aware the entire time and didn't tell him, his younger brother would be furious with him.

"The truth about what?" Matt pushed, getting more and more worried the longer Ben kept from telling him what was going on.

"Dad and Hal didn't go scouting ahead." Ben started, then waited until his knew that Matt processed that before he finished, "Pope kidnapped Hal, and Dad went after him to get him back."

"Pope kidnapped Hal?" Matt repeated what his brother told, his voice cold and eyes full of fury.

"Yeah." Ben confirmed. Matt didn't say or do anything for a few seconds which started to concern the older sibling, but then he took a deep breath and started marching away from Ben and the direction of the 2nd Mass. Instead, it looked as though he was heading in the general direction of Chinatown.

"Whoa." Ben called out as he rushed towards his little brother, stood in front of him to stand in his way, then asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going after them." Matt stated, his voice tightly controlled, though it was easy to hear the anger in it. He tried to march pass the teenager, but Ben grabbed his arms to keep him in place.

"No Matt, you can't." Ben told him.

"Why not?" Matt shouted the question as he struggled against Ben's hold.

"Because we have no idea where they are, and it's too dangerous." The older brother answered, still trying to hold Matt still. While he was much stronger then his younger brother, he didn't want to use too much strength because he didn't want to hurt him.

"Not as dangerous as Dad rescuing him alone." Matt pointed out, slowly stopping his struggles so he could focus on Ben.

"Matt, we'd have no idea where to go, no idea what's going on, we could end up getting in the crosshairs and if we did that, and got hurt, Dad and Hal would kill us." Ben tried to explain.

"What if Pope already killed them?" Matt then asked, the anger replaced by overwhelming fear. If Pope had already killed their Dad and older brother, then they would have no way of knowing. The only way they would eventually figure it out, is that they would just never come back.

Ben tried to keep himself calm when Matt asked him that. Ever since Anne told him and Maggie the truth, he had the same fear, that their Dad and Hal were already dead. But Matt didn't need to know that. What he needed, was to stay calm and not do something stop, so Ben asked, "What if Dad's already rescued Hal and they're on their way back?"

"Matt, if Dad and Hal don't come back soon, we'll talk to Anne and Weaver," Ben started, causing Matt to look up at him in slight confusion before Ben finished, "and head out together."

"What if they don't let us?" Matt wondered. After all, Anne and Weaver kept the truth from them so they wouldn't go after their missing family members and still didn't want them to go now, so why would they let them go later?

"As if those two could actually stop us." Ben replied with a knowing grin, causing Matt to smile slightly in return. If there was one thing that everyone, especially Anne and Weaver knew about the Masons, is that they were very stubborn. Even if the two leaders literally ordered them to stay put when they didn't want too, they wouldn't listen.

"Do you really think Dad and Hal are on their way back?" Matt questioned, his voice begging for reassurance.

"I think Dad and Hal are too strong and stubborn to let Pope stop them." Ben answered. The younger brother nodded, but lowered his head, still clearly worried about Hal and their Dad. Not able to really come up with anything else to say that would comfort the curly-haired kid, Ben wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight. Matt quickly returned the embrace.

After a minute or two, Ben pulled away, stood up straight, and as he put his arm around Matt's shoulders, he said, "Come on, let's head back."

 ** _*Tom and Hal talk after they are reunited at the farmhouse*_**

Tom carefully and gently unwrapped the bandage on Hal's arm so he could check the injury while his son sat patiently on the bed. After the father and son had been reunited, Hal had introduced Tom to Isabella, quietly informing him that it was because of her that he escaped Pope, which immediately made the father give her a grateful smile.

Tom then introduced Hal and Isabella to Willie and Alicia, explaining how they found him and saved him from the hornet. Once introductions were made, Alicia led them to the spare rooms before heading downstairs to continue making supper. Isabella went into one room while Tom led Hal to the one he was in before, wanting to check his son over more thoroughly.

Though the parent had looked over his oldest a few minutes ago when Hal first arrived, he wanted to make sure that his son was indeed alright. The memory of hearing his child screaming through the walkie-talkie was as clear as day to Tom. He knew something bad had to happen to get that reaction from Hal.

As Tom looked over his son again, he saw the blood stains on the left sleeve of Hal's sweater. Without giving Hal any warning, Tom reached out to grab his arm. Hal quickly realized what his Dad saw and pulled up his sleeve to reveal the blood-soaked bandage on his limb. Tom then had his son sit down on the bed while he sat down beside him and started taking off the bandage so he could check the injury.

Once the bandage was off, Tom felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of the wound on his eldest's arm. It appeared as though the limb had been nearly sliced in half by a knife. Even though the injury had been stitched up, not very neatly though, Tom could tell the wound was deep, and had obviously been bleeding despite the stitches. It wasn't bleeding anymore though which was good.

"Dad?" Tom looked up at the young man when he heard Hal call him.

"It's not your fault Dad." Hal told him, seeing the guilty expression on his father's face. He knew that his Dad was blaming himself because Pope only kidnapped him to get revenge on him for Sarah's death, but it wasn't his Dad's fault. As the leader of the 2nd Mass, he had to put them first and that's what he did. Pope, so consumed in angry and hate refused to even try and understand that. The only person at fault his kidnapping and his injuries was Pope.

"I'm going to get the first aid kit. I'll be right back." Tom said, not responding to his son's earlier statement or meeting his eyes. Without another word, he stood up and left the room as quickly as he could without running. Once he was out of the room, he paused in the hallway and wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath as he did so.

Hal was wrong, all of this was his fault. Though Tom knew he made the right decision in choosing to destroy the Overlord's factory and the skitters he was creating instead of going to save Sarah, everything that Pope did afterwards was to get back at him for making that choice. If he had managed to help save Sarah, Pope would never had kidnapped up Hal, his son wouldn't have gone through who knows what while being held hostage and wouldn't be hurt right now.

"Tom?" The former history teacher was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his name and looked up to see Alicia slowly walking towards him, first aid kit and bottle of water in her hands.

"I figured you might need this." Alicia said, holding out the kit and bottle to the father, who gave her a small, grateful smile and reached out to take them.

"Thanks." Tom responded.

"No problem. Is your son alright?" Alicia then asked, having seen how the young man looked when he arrived at the farmhouse and the upset expression on Tom's face.

"Yeah, he'll be okay. He's tough." Tom told her, sounding more like he was talking to himself instead of her.

"Good. If you need anything else, just let me know." Alicia said.

"Thanks." Tom replied, again giving her a grateful smile. The mother returned it before she turned around and started walking away and down the stairs. Tom then headed back to the bedroom where Hal was, opened the door, and went inside.

To the father's surprise though, Hal wasn't sitting upright on the bed anymore. He was lying down on his side, and appeared to be fast asleep. Tom immediately made his way over to his son, putting the kit and water bottle on the bedside table and laid his hand on his son's shoulder, shaking it slightly, just to make sure that Hal was okay, that he hadn't fallen in a coma or anything.

"Hal?" Tom called in a gentle tone as he continued to lightly shake his son's shoulder. He stopped though when he heard a quiet moan, and Hal's eyes started fluttering open.

"I'm okay, just tired." Hal said quietly, and started to move so he could sit up but his Dad gently pushed him back down.

"No, lie back down. I was just making sure you're alright." Tom told his son, who was apparently to tired to argue. As Hal laid back down on the bed, the father whispered, "Get some sleep. You're safe now."

Hal was asleep within seconds. Even though Tom had told the young man to go to sleep, he couldn't help but be a little worried about that. The bruises on his son's face were obvious and he wasn't sure if Hal had a concussion or not. And if he did, he was pretty sure that he shouldn't be letting his boy sleep, at least, that's what he heard. He wasn't a doctor after all. But, it also had been a few days since Hal had escaped Pope, so if there was something wrong with his head, Hal and Isabella would've known about it by now. So, Tom let his son sleep, deciding to wake him up in about an hour to check, just to make sure.

While Hal slept, Tom grabbed the first aid kit and pulled out some antibacterial wipes and started cleaning the young man's arm, being very careful to not cause it to bleed again and to make sure he didn't accidentally hurt his son any more than he already had been. As soon as Hal's arm was clean, he grabbed some gauze and wrapped the injury up so it wouldn't be exposed and get infected. Once that was done, he started cleaning the small mess he made.

After doing that, Tom grabbed the chair by the desk and dragged it over to the bed as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Hal. He then sat down in the chair beside his son and gently grabbed his hand. After spending two days filled with fear and worry over his oldest who was being tortured and threatened, there was no way he was letting Hal out of his sight for a while, not until they were back at the 2nd Mass at least.

As Tom continued his watch over his boy, he noticed that Hal didn't have a blanket, so he stood up and pulled the blanket that was lying at the edge of the bed and draped it over Hal. The movement caused Hal to stir slightly, and not wanting him to wake just yet, Tom placed his hand on Hal's head and gently shushed him.

"I love you." Tom whispered to his son, his voice barely audible, before placing a small kiss on Hal's head. He then sat back down on the chair and got comfortable, knowing he wasn't moving for a while.

 ** _*Hal finds and talks to Ben*_**

Hal surveyed the crowds with a careful eye as he searched for Ben. He, Isabella and his Dad had arrived in Fayetteville about half an hour ago, reuniting with the 2nd Mass, his youngest brother and his stepmother and Maggie, but he hadn't seen his middle brother at all yet. After asking around for a few minutes, it became clear that no one knew exactly where Ben had sneaked off to, so Hal was left looking for the blonde with no clue where to find him.

Though Hal knew that Ben would show up sooner or later, most likely at next mealtime or when there was a shift change for those on guard, the oldest felt a strong urge to check on Ben. After spending at least two days as Pope's prisoner, nearly constantly being told that he was going to die, he just wanted to his family and Ben was the only one he hadn't seen yet. Not to mention, he wanted to make sure his younger brother was alright, having been traveling and fighting without him and their Dad watching his back, as well as, well, because of everything that happened with Maggie.

Hal was completely thrown when Maggie practically ran up to him and placed his hand on her neck, showing him that her spikes were gone. He was surprised that she was able to do that and was still okay, and was happy they were gone, though now he was feeling confused because of Isabella. But when he first found that they were gone, Ben immediately came to his mind, along with all of the obvious thoughts.

After finding that Ben wasn't with the rest of the 2nd Mass, Hal started walking down the streets of Fayetteville, thinking that maybe his brother had just gone for a walk or something. He was proven right when he saw Ben walking down an empty street. He started heading towards him, about to call after him, but before he could, the blonde suddenly turned around with his gun raised and ready to fire.

"Whoa! Easy there geek." Hal said as he threw up his hands in a 'I surrender' gesture. Seeing who it was, Ben immediately lowered his gun.

"Hal. You're back." Ben stated with a relieved tone. As Hal started walking closer to him, Ben then saw the very visible black eye and the cuts on his face. The relief he felt at seeing his brother was suddenly replaced with worry and he asked, "Are you alright? Where's Dad? Is he okay too?"

"Slow down. Yes, I'm fine, Dad's with Weaver at camp, and he's fine." Hal answered his brother's questions as he came to stand in front of the teenager.

"Good, good. When Anne told us about Pope kidnapping you and how Dad went after you without any backup, we were worried." Ben said before adding for emphasis, "Really worried."

Hal gave his younger brother a reassuring smile, placed his hand on Ben's shoulder and said, "Well, don't be. I'm okay, both me and Dad are fine."

Ben nodded, but looked down at the ground, as though he was unable to meet his older brother's eyes and Hal had a fairly good idea why.

"Are you alright?" Hal wondered after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Ben replied, looking back up at Hal with a defensive look in his eyes. The older brother knew that he should back off, but there was just one thing he wanted to make sure his younger brother knew first.

"If you're not, you know you can talk to me."

"Yeah, I know." Ben responded, though they both knew that they would probably never actually talk about what was going on, because it had to do with Maggie.

Ben would never feel comfortable talking to Hal about how he really felt about his brother's girlfriend and how much it hurt when she took the spikes out, nor did he feel like he even had the right to. Regardless of his own feelings and the way the spikes acted, he had deeply hurt his brother and talking about it would probably only make it worse. And he was positive that though Hal just told him he could talk to him, he didn't actually really want to hear it. That would just be too awkward and painful. From the look in Hal's eyes, he knew it too.

"It's getting late, we should head back." Hal broke the silence, seeing the sun setting off in the distance. Ben nodded, and together, the two started making their way back to the 2nd Mass.

 ** _*Hal and Matt talk about Pope*_**

It was late at night when Hal finally headed off to bed. After reuniting with his family and doing a short patrol, his Dad and Weaver, and Anne actually kind of teamed up on him, practically ordering him to get some rest. While he wanted to fight it a little, not wanting to others to think that something was wrong as nobody outside his family and Weaver and Maggie knew the real reason he and his Dad were gone, he was exhausted. So, he went without much complaint. As he was about to lie down, the door opened and Matt came inside.

"Hey buddy." Hal welcomed his youngest brother with a wide smile. Matt tried to smile back as he came further into the room, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hi." Matt said, his voice quiet and his head lowered. Hal frowned a little in concern when he heard his brother's voice. When Matt stopped in his tracks and kept his head down, the dark-haired soldier grew more worried causing him to reach forward, gently grab Matt's arms and pull him closer.

"Hey, hey what's wrong?" Hal inquired, voice filled with worry at his brother's silence.

"I'm sorry." Matt finally answered quietly, so quiet actually that Hal barely heard him.

"About what?" Hal pushed, needing to know what was going on.

"Pope." The older tried not to tense at the mention of the criminal's name, keeping his focus on his baby brother.

"You're going to have to give me more than that buddy." Just as Hal said that, the pieces fell into place, "Wait, you're not thinking it's your fault for what Pope did, are you?"

Matt didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes and his silence answered the young man's question. Hal immediately pulled his younger brother into his arms and held him tightly. Matt quickly returned the embrace.

"Oh buddy. None of what happened is your fault. None of it. Pope made his own choices, he's the only one to blame. You are in no way responsible for his actions." Hal tried to convince the curly-haired blonde.

"He was my friend, I trusted him." Matt reminded him, his voice muffled a little because he was pressing his head into Hal's neck.

"I know." Hal responded, rubbing his brother's back comfortingly.

"But then he threatened Dad, hurt you. I thought he was my friend." Matt told him, sounding completely miserable, causing Hal to tighten his hold.

"He was once. But when Sarah died, he snapped. He was so hurt and angry and blamed Dad for it. It had nothing to do with you." Hal stated, hoping that Matt would believe him. Hearing that, Matt slowly pulled away from his older brother so he could look him in the eyes.

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" Matt wondered.

"Because he was someone you trusted, and when he did what he did, he betrayed you and hurt people you care about, which also hurt you. Somewhere in your brain, you have this idea where if you didn't trust him, he couldn't have hurt you." Hal tried to explain as Matt moved so he could sit down on the cot beside him.

"That doesn't really make sense." Matt replied.

"Guilt is a strange, illogical thing buddy. Sometimes, it doesn't make sense. It's called misplaced guilt." Hal told him.

Matt nodded, then looked down at the ground as he thought it over. After a minute of silence, he said, "It sucks."

Hal chuckled slightly at the simple yet truthful stated and agreed, "Yeah it does."

The younger Mason smiled a little at the sight of his older brother laughing, but then his eyes were drawn back to the black eye, bruised cheek, and cut on his lip. Even though Hal had already said he was okay, Matt couldn't but ask again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hal wrapped his arm around Matt's shoulders, pulling him close again when he heard the question.

"Yes, I'm fine. I promise." Hal replied before giving his younger brother a light kiss on the top of his head. Matt laid his head on Hal's shoulder, snuggling a little into his childhood protector, actually, his protector even now. He didn't really want to leave.

"Can I," Matt started, pausing for a moment due to a sudden feeling of embarrassment, but he ignored and continued, "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Of course you can buddy." Hal immediately answered, looking down at Matt to give him a small smile. The brothers then laid down on the cot, which was a little harder then it used to be as Matt wasn't so small anymore, but the two quickly got comfortable and fell fast asleep, safe and sound in each other's arms.

 **AN** – Hope you all liked this chapter! Next chapter will have missing scenes from 5x08. See you all then!


	9. Comfort of Family (5x08)

**Disclaimer** – I own nothing.

 **To scienceficfan24** – Thanks so much for your review! Glad I was able to make your day! I'm doing my best on working on another Falling Skies story, hoping I will be start posting in the next couple of weeks. Might be longer but it is coming, I promise! Hope you like this chapter!

 **AN** – And I'm back! Much earlier than I have been lately I know. I'm almost done with the chapters that I have planned, but if anyone wants to give me some ideas for missing scenes, just let me know in the review section. Hope you all like this chapter!

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*Hal takes care of Ben while in the cell*_**

Hal craned his head over his shoulder as the two soldiers holding onto his arms continued dragging him through the building to look at Ben, who was also being dragged by two other guards while Anne and Wolf, the soldier who helped them try to escape, were being dragged behind the blonde. Hal couldn't get a good look at Ben's face though due to the way his brother was letting his head fall forward, chin on his chest. So instead, Hal glared at soldiers holding onto the teenager, silently promising them a very painful death if they hurt his little brother. He was already hurt enough.

Having been in the same cell earlier, Hal had seen the bruises Ben had been sporting after he was 'interrogated' by the soldiers. And when they were caught after their failed escape attempt, he saw the soldiers rough up Ben a little. He had been roughed up a bit too before they were picked up and dragged back into the building where their 'prison' was.

Once they entered the room, Hal, Ben, Anne, and Wolf were pulled inside and over to the cells. While the soldiers who were holding Wolf and Anne took them to the cells on the other side of the room, Hal and Ben were taken to the one closest to them. Another soldier, one who wasn't holding on to one of their prisoners, came forward and unlocked the cell door before backing away.

The minute the door was open, the men holding Hal's arms practically threw him into the makeshift cell. Luckily, Hal was able to keep himself balanced enough so he didn't actually fall to the floor. As he turned around to face the soldiers however, he saw that Ben was most likely not going to be that lucky. Sure enough, as the guards pushed the teenager into Hal's cell, he fell to the floor.

"Ben? Ben, you okay?" Hal asked in an urgent tone as he fell to his knees beside his younger brother, putting his hands on Ben's shoulders to turn him so he was facing the older sibling.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Ben tried to assure his older brother. His weak, exhausted, and slightly pained voice told Hal the truth though, causing the dark-haired young man to move his hands from Ben's shoulders to his face, cradling it gently.

"Is he alright?" Anne asked from the cell she was put in when she saw Hal and Ben still on the ground.

"I don't know." Hal answered, keeping his eyes on his brother, who slowly shook his head.

"I said I'm fine." Ben tried to insist as hard as he could. Unfortunately, his tone of voice hadn't gotten better in the few seconds since he last spoke. Though Hal wanted to, he didn't argue with the blonde as he easily saw the exhausted expression on his face. He didn't want to make it worse.

"Come on bro, up on the cot." Hal said as he moved his hands to grab Ben's arms and gently pulled him to his feet, led him to the bed and helped him sit down, "Lay down, it's okay."

The teenager nodded, obviously too exhausted to argue. As he laid down on his stomach though, he suddenly tensed up and arched his back a little, letting out a small gasp at the same time. Hal immediately got on his knees beside the cot and put his hand on his brother's shoulder as he said, "Ben?"

"I'm alright. The spikes, are just healing me." Ben answered, more pain in his voice than there was before, though he forced himself to relax, not wanting to worry his older brother any more than he already was.

Hal knew that Ben was just saying that, but he didn't confront him on it. Instead, he just moved his hand from Ben's shoulder and rubbed his little brother's back comfortingly, whispering, "It's okay, it's gonna be okay."

Ben didn't say anything, he just did his best to stay relaxed as the spikes continued healing him. After a minute or two, the pain slowly lessened and he turned his head to look over at his brother, "Hal?"

"Yeah Ben?" Hal replied, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at Ben.

"We aren't getting out of this one, are we?" The blonde wondered, his voice empty, like he had already accepted the fact that they were going to die in just a few hours.

"Hey, of course we are. We're going to be just fine." Hal tried his best to reassure his brother, even though he himself wasn't sure if he believed it. They had been in many grim situations, but none of them seemed as grim as this, not counting what happened about week ago with Pope of course, though Ben didn't know much about that situation.

"We've pushed our luck too many times Hal, it was bound to run out." Ben told him.

"Hasn't run out yet bro. We're going to okay. I promise." Hal objected, hating how hopeless his little brother sounded right now. Ben didn't say anything for a long moment. Long enough for Hal to think that maybe he had fallen asleep. He found he was wrong though when the blonde opened his eyes to stare up at him.

"Hal?" Ben said with a quiet voice, "I never said sorry, about Maggie."

It took a few seconds for Hal to realize what Ben was trying to say, but before he could tell his brother to stop, that he knew that Ben was sorry and to just forget about, the teenager continued, "I am sorry. I am. I never meant or wanted to hurt you."

"I know Ben, I know." Hal replied as he ran his hand through his brother's hair, then gently ordered, "Go to sleep, you need your rest."

"Hal?" The dark-haired young man was about to tell the teenager to stop talking and go back to sleep, that they could talk later, if there was a later that is, but before he could, Ben said, "Thanks, for everything."

"You're welcome." Hal only whispered, because Ben's eyes had finally fallen shut. After a minute, his breathing evened out as well.

"How's he doing?" Anne wondered from her cell on the other side of the room after a couple of minutes, wanting to make sure she wouldn't accidentally interrupt them if they were still going to keep talking.

"He's asleep." Hal answered, turning his head to glance at her as he did so. Anne nodded, but still looked fairly worried, moving her own head as though she was actually trying to see for herself if Ben was alright.

"What are the odds of us getting out of this?" Hal then asked her, wondering if he actually had been lying to his younger brother.

"Honestly? Probably not very good, but you know your Dad. He's going to do everything he can to get us out, and your Dad is one stubborn person." Anne tried to be honest yet give her oldest stepson some hope, even though she was struggling to have any herself.

Hal let out a soft chuckle when he heard that and said, "You got that right."

Neither Hal or Anne said anything after that. Lieutenant Wolf also stayed quiet. There simply wasn't anything left to say. All they could do was sit and wait, either to be rescued, or to die. So the three people that were still conscious got comfortable in their cells and waited. Wolf sat down on the cot in his cage. Anne did the same thing after pacing in her cell for a few minutes. Hal, since Ben was lying down on the cot in their shared cell, sat on the floor and leaned his head back to rest on the bed right by Ben's arms.

Finally, after what felt like hours yet minutes at the same time, the door to the room opened, and several soldiers came in, their backs straight and emotionless expressions. As the soldiers came to the occupied cells, a soldier that Hal quickly recognized as the one that was hitting on Isabella before when they first arrived, though now had a cut on his cheek, said, "Time to go."

Hal turned around and gently shook Ben's shoulder to wake him. It took a few seconds for the teenager to wake up and realize what was happening, but he then stood up with his older brother's help. The soldiers then opened the cells doors, came in, and tied their prisoners' hands behind their back before leading them outside to face the firing squad.

 ** _*Matt reunites with Ben and Hal*_**

Tom stared at Weaver, who was still crouching over Katy's body, for another few seconds before he looked back over at his wife and two oldest sons. Anne was still standing right beside him while Hal had moved over to Ben's side, his hand on the blonde's shoulder. As far as he could tell, they all appeared to be okay, but he knew that appearances could be deceiving.

"Are you three sure you're alright?" Tom couldn't help but ask again. His family had literally been arrested and lined up for a firing squad, and had no idea if they would be saved or not.

"Yeah, we're fine." Anne answered reassuringly, moving to stand right up against her husband. As she did that, Tom wrapped his arm around her, holding her close while looking over at two of his sons, making sure that they actually were okay. At that moment, his other son came running towards them.

"Hal! Ben! Anne!" Matt shouted, running to his family at top speed. Reaching them, he threw his arms around Hal's waist. Hal instinctively returned the hug, holding his youngest brother tightly.

"Hey buddy." Hal said, looking down at his baby brother with a wide smile. Matt immediately smiled back before he let go of Hal and moved to hug Ben.

"Are you guys okay?" Matt asked as Ben returned his only younger brother's embrace, hoping that Matt wouldn't feel how much the older blonde was shaking.

Hal however, noticed and put his hand on Ben's shoulder to comfort him, getting both of his brothers' attention before answering, "Yeah, we're fine buddy. We're all okay."

Looking back over at his Dad, who was watching the three, Hal repeated his earlier statement, "We're all okay."

 ** _*Tom checks on Ben and Hal*_**

Only about two hours later, after they had successfully revealed that Katy was an Espheni mole and they had saved Hal, Ben, Anne, and Lieutenant Wolf from the firing squad, Tom walked into the infirmary part of the building, looking for his two oldest sons and his wife. Considering how Ben had been tortured and that he had seen both Hal and Ben get beaten when they were captured when they tried to escape the night before, Anne had them come to the infirmary with her so she could check them both over. After making sure that everything was now under control at the military base, Tom rushed over to see his sons and his wife.

"How are you doing?" Tom asked as he walked over to Anne, effectively getting her attention as he did so.

"I'm still, a little freaked, but I'm okay." Anne replied, turning to face her husband as he stopped in front of her. He then placed his hands on both her shoulders, rubbing them a little comfortingly.

"I'm really sorry." Tom apologized, feeling that it was because of him the soldiers targeted his family. Anne though, quickly protested, knowing that it was the aliens who had controlled all of this.

"None of what happened is your fault. Katy was an Espheni mole, trying to destroy us. Just means the aliens are more than threatened by us." Tom nodded, knowing deep down that his wife was right, though that didn't really make him feel any better.

"You still shouldn't have gone through all that." Tom said quietly after a moment.

"We've all gone through things that we shouldn't have to go through. It is what it is." The doctor responded sympathetically.

"Yeah." Tom mumbled. After a minute of silence, Tom looked back up at her and asked, "Where are Ben and Hal?"

Anne raised her hand and half-way pointed to a door on the right side of the room and replied, "In there. I want to keep Ben in overnight for observation, but Hal's free to go."

"Thanks." Tom responded before giving his wife a quick peck on her cheek then headed over to the door where Anne said his sons where on the other side of.

As Tom entered the small room, he found his two oldest sons like Anne said. Ben was lying on the bed on his side, while Hal sat in a chair beside the bed, keeping watch over his younger brother. Tom slowly walked over to Hal, who turned his head to look at him when he heard the door open. When he saw it was his Dad, he turned his attention back to Ben while Tom came to stand beside him, and put his hand on Hal's shoulder.

"He doing okay?" Tom wondered in a hushed voice so he wouldn't wake Ben.

"Yeah, Anne said he should be fine, just wants to keep an eye on him to make sure." Hal answered, leaning back in his chair a bit.

"And what about you? You okay? You've been through a lot lately." Tom questioned. It hadn't even been two weeks since his oldest had been kidnapped by Pope and was nearly killed. Everything that happened at this base in the last 24 hours had to have been triggering for him.

"I'm okay Dad. Don't worry about me." Hal replied. He knew that he had worried his Dad enough when he had been kidnapped by Pope, and now with both of them, along with Ben and Anne being arrested and sentenced to death, his Dad was worried enough. He didn't need to know how he was barely holding back his own shock and fear over everything that happened. Besides, he wasn't the one that was tortured. That was Ben.

"A parent never stops worrying about his children Hal." His Dad informed him. Hal didn't give any response to that. He just turned his attention back to Ben who was still fast asleep.

When Hal didn't say anything, Tom sat down on the edge of the cot, then said, "I thought Anne cleared you."

"She did, but, I just wanted to," Hal started but stopped when his Dad cut him off.

"Make sure Ben was okay?" Tom correctly guessed with a smile, earning a nod from Hal.

"An older sibling never really stops worrying about their younger ones either." Hal pointed out with a slight smirk, causing Tom's smile to grow.

As his oldest son turned his head back to face his sleeping sibling, Tom reached forward and put his hand on Hal's shoulder and commented, "You're a good brother."

"I don't know about that." Hal somewhat objected with a slight shake of his head. Though he had been doing his best to take care of his brothers, he felt like he had been failing, at least with Ben. In the last few weeks, he had been so angry and hurt that he stopped looking after him, or at least, hadn't been doing as much of it as he should have been. If he had, then maybe he could've stopped the soldiers here from kidnapping his brother and torturing him.

"You are Hal, you are." Tom insisted, moving the hand that was on his son's shoulder to place it on the back of Hal's neck as he continued, "Ever since this war started, and your Mom died, you've really stepped up. I'm proud of you."

Hal slowly turned to face his Dad, his eyes shining just a little. The last time he could remember his father telling him that was when they first rescued Ben from the skitters. The fact that even though Hal felt like he had failed, his Dad was proud of him, and that meant a lot more to the young man than he realized it would. With a small and sincere smile, Hal replied, "Thanks Dad."

Tom nodded and smiled in response before patting Hal lightly on his shoulder, then ordered, "Now, go get some rest. I'll take care of Ben."

Knowing his Dad wasn't going to back down, Hal nodded, feeling a little too tired to argue with his Dad about staying anyways. As he stood up from his chair, he said, "Okay. If you need anything, just come and get me."

His Dad nodded, giving him a half smile before he turned his attention back to Ben, who was still sound asleep. As Hal reached the door though, he stopped and turned back around to face his Dad and Ben, still feeling a need to keep an eye on his brother. When he saw his Dad sitting in the chair he just vacated, keeping watch over the teenager, he felt slightly better. Despite feeling a bit overprotective at the moment, the older brother knew that the parent would take care of Ben, so he left the room in search of his youngest brother, and for something to do.

 **AN** – I hope you all liked this chapter. Next chapter will have missing scenes from 5x09 which will hopefully be up soon! If you guys have any ideas for missing scenes or want to see any expanded scenes, just let me know. See you all later!


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